Total Drama Forgotten Island
by XBloodLegendX
Summary: A new season of Total Drama is set on a newly discovered island, yet to be inhabited by mankind. With a new host and a new cast, who will bring home the million dollars and who will be nothing more than a castaway?
1. 1: 20 Ways to Win

The camera shows an aerial view of a medium sized island in the middle of the ocean near Greenland. It was mostly green, with large shores and two hills at the center. There are only a few animals that inhabit the island but it is clear that nature thrives in the place. The camera pans towards the docks where a man and a woman stands there at the end. The man is wearing an open crimson trench coat over a long sleeved polo shirt and maroon neck tie, and for his bottom he wears black denim jeans with a belt and a buckle with a daturas nightshade design, and silver combat boots. He has flowing jet black hair that reached until his lower back, sharp on the ends and his front bangs are held back by a hairpin that had the design of a skull with diamonds for eyes. He wore dark shades but took them off to reveal his sharp silver eyes as he gave a knowing smile at the camera. The woman is wearing a short red dress, red hoop earrings, and red heels. She had straight dyed blonde hair and a smile on her face as well.

"Welcome, dear viewers!" The woman started as she stepped forward. "I'm Blaineley Stacey Andrews O'Halloran, former host of Celebrity Manhunt and Total Drama World Tour Aftermath."

"And my name is Valnoir." The man said afterwards with a bit less enthusiasm as the first host. "We are tasked with being the hosts for this season of Total Drama, called Total Drama Forgotten Island."

"Come on, show some spirit." Blaineley scolded her partner. "Ugh, if only I was the main host and not just some newbie's co-host."

"Watch what you're saying, Mildred." Valnoir smiled. Blaineley's eyes widened in shock when she heard him say her real name. "We still have a show to host." He added.

"Okay okay. Just call me Blaineley." Blaineley conceded.

"Very well." Valnoir chuckled. "Now, you must all be wondering why the title is called Total Drama Forgotten Island."

"There's actually a very simple reason for it." Blaineley said.

"This island is yet to be inhabited by any humans." Valnoir explained. "That means that nature here has yet to be tainted by humanity's cruel needs for their everyday life. That being said, there aren't many animals here that can destroy our campers either." He slightly frowned.

"We can get the interns to ship in more wild ones." Blaineley waved him off. "What's important now is that the campers are coming here in two yachts that will also determine their teams."

"Saves us the trouble." Valnoir nodded. "I heard Chris made the contestants do a challenge in order to determine their teams."

"Is that the cast from Sci-Fi Showdown?" Blaineley asked. "Don't worry, our season will definitely be better than that!"

"Isn't it still ongoing?" Valnoir asked her. "I know they have already reached the merge."

"Well, yes, but we still gotta be positive that our season will be much better. After all, it has me in it." Blaineley winked and smiled at the camera. Valnoir just rolled his eyes but his smile never left his face.

"Well that aside, the yachts might take a while to arrive here." Valnoir noted. "I wonder what the campers are doing. Let's hope it's something camera-worthy."

* * *

A large white yacht is currently sailing towards the forgotten island in a steady pace. It looks luxurious and grand, almost Titanic sized. The camera zoomed in on the upper deck, where a tall girl stood straight, gazing out over the ocean. She has long flowing auburn hair, and light red eyes that depicted a calm demeanor. She wears a red dress shirt under a white cravat, flowing knee length red lacy skirt and short black boots. Holding a parasol in one hand to shield her from the rays of the sun, she breathed in the fresh sea breeze.

"It is quite a sunny day." She remarked to no one. "It's the perfect season to hold a Total Drama season, if I do say so myself." She continued to monologue.

"I agree completely, milady." A voice came from behind her. She turned around and saw a tall, well dressed man with brown eyes walking towards where she is. He wears a silver suit and black neck tie, black pants and gray leather shoes. "A sunny day like this should create enough adrenaline to either make or break a team in challenges."

"You seem to know much about this competition, despite us not even starting yet." The girl noted.

"I have watched the past seasons in my spare time. And milady, we are already starting." The man replied. "My name is Quincey. May I have your name?"

"I am Jeanette Flora Hawthorne." She answered him with a curt bow and a smile.

"That name sounds familiar." Quincey looked down in thought.

"It should be." Jeanette held her head up proudly. "My mother owns one of the newest fashion lines in the fashion industry, Superbia."

"Now I remember." He snapped his fingers. "The Hawthorne family of the fashion industry. I heard your mother is going to America to showcase it. I do wish her the best."

"Thank you." Jeanette gave a small smile. "I figured I'd board the same plane as her in order to get here."

"Efficient and effective." He nodded in acknowledgement. "I have not asked about your talents yet despite you already knowing about how well informed I am about this season. Perhaps you'd like to share?"

"I'd like to say I'm good at being a strategist. That is to say, a strategist in challenges." She twirled her parasol a bit.

"A strategist in challenges, huh?" Quincey repeated. "If that is so, then you are going to be a great asset to the team you end up in."

"There are quite a few of us on this boat." Jeanette noticed. "I suspect we are already in a team."

"Then it is great to have you as a teammate." Quincey turned to walk away. "I am not much for conversation, but you will find that my skills can help in physical challenges, enough to keep me around until the merge I would hope."

"You held a proper conversation with me. That alone is improvement on your part." Jeanette called out to him as he walked away. "And worry not, I think I may help you get far if you stick with me."

The camera then pans out and in on a room by the lower deck. It is a recreational room filled with board games and other toys that would mostly appeal to a child. Sitting on a small chair is a boy of average height, scratching his head in a stressed manner as he was looking over some newspaper cut-outs. He wears a short sleeved gray shirt and green camo pants and boots to match. He also wears leather gloves on his hands and shin guards hidden in his pants. He has blond hair with blood red highlights and tan skinned.

"I swear the government is screwing us over. I just know it!" He muttered with a paranoid expression as he pushed aside a few cut-outs to make room for the rest that were underneath it. "But I'm prepared for it, yes indeed." He gave a small, dry laugh as he said that part a bit too loudly.

"Prepared for what?" Another person approached him from the doorway,. This one wears a light blue sleeveless hoodie with a white tank top underneath, jean shorts with ripped designer ends and normal low brown boots. Accessories include earrings, a red ruby ring, and a dark blue collar with a dark blue gem. This person has wavy silvery gray hair done up in a high ponytail with two long strands down the sides of the face, and red eye color. "By the way, I'm Alysson." The person greeted.

"What? What do you want?" The boy that's sitting down whipped his head back to face the newcomer. "I don't wanna talk right now." He said quickly and irritably. "Not even to girls like you."

"Well sorry for being an intruder. You look like you needed company." Alysson said smoothly while getting closer to the boy and looking over at the newspaper cut-outs. "What's all this? Mind telling me?" Alysson asked in a sweet tone.

"It's me trying to see what the government has planned for us." The boy answered with a sigh before turning back to the stuff in the table. "But it's none of your business so go run along now. I hate being distracted like this."

"You're not even going to give me the pleasure of your name? Isn't that rude?" Alysson said with a short giggle.

"It's Keith." He answered nonchalantly. Alysson reached out to get a cut-out but Keith slammed his hand down on it to protect it. "Don't touch my stuff!" He yelled.

"I was just curious." Alysson defended. "Maybe you're grumpy because you have no company here."

"I'm fine! Just go already and stop distracting me!" Keith said exasperatedly. "Go before the government targets you too. Trying to do you a favor here."

"Sheesh. Alright." Alysson backed up with raised hands before turning to leave. "I'll go I'll go." Keith heard the door close behind him as he didn't look back anymore. He sighed to himself before going back to what he was doing.

The camera now panned to the room beside it, which is a theater. A horror movie is playing on the big screen and the only person watching it is a short girl with curly cherry pink hair and emerald green eyes. She wears a red hoodie, black leggings, and boots. She was watching the movie in a very quiet and intent manner when someone burst open the door and went inside. It was a tall boy wearing an eccentric-looking jester outfit in the colors red, blue, and yellow. He had small ruby earrings on, a jester hat on his head, and a cape attached to his clothes. His face is all smiles, with a blue tear tattoo under his right eye.

"What a scary film! Why would they show this to the people on the yacht? They should show something funny or maybe a documentary on how to survive or win this thing, am I right?" He laughed loudly which made the short girl looked over her shoulder at him.

"Could you please keep it down?" The girl said softly and shyly. "I'm watching the movie."

"Oh my! There's an audience of one here!?" The man gasped and covered his mouth. He skipped over to her and sat down beside her. "Hello there! I'm Jackie."

"My name is Beatrice and could you please use indoor voices?" Beatrice pouted. "This part is getting good, even though I can already predict what will happen next."

"Oooh, like a fortune teller? Or a prophet?" Jackie exclaimed happily. "I'm a jester if you couldn't tell. I bring joy and laughter to the masses!" He exclaimed proudly with his hands on his hips, his voice almost competing with that in the movie.

Beatrice just sighed to herself. "I expected someone to visit me, but why you?" She muttered to herself.

"What was that, darling?" Jackie leaned his face closer to her, making his ear face her. "I couldn't hear you."

"It's nothing, really. I just think it's nice of you to think of others like that." She lied with a shy voice. "Sorry, I'm not good at talking to strangers." She admitted with a slightly flustered face.

"Oh no worries, darling! I was once like that too!" Jackie grinned. "But my papa used to tell me that the world smiles at those who smile at it!"

"That's an actual quote?" Beatrice tilted her head.

"Nope!" Jackie exclaimed without feeling any shame or guilt. He momentarily looked at the horror movie and gasped in shock when a gruesome scene took place. Beatrice made a confused face at him which he did not see.

The camera switched scenes to show the gym area in the yacht. It is shown that all the equipment is brand new and well maintained and organized. Using the treadmills are two girls who seems to be chatting. One has straight jet black hair that reaches down to her upper back, light red eyes, and tan skin. She wears a red shirt with the design being that of the goddess Aphrodite, pink short shorts, and white sneakers.

"Sometimes I wish he would just go out and make new friends." She rolled her eyes. The other girl nodded in agreement. This one has shoulder length dark brown hair, and mocha skin. She wears the green team jacket of the Green Bolts, and a forest green short skirt with white knee high socks and open leather shoes. She seems to be fairly shorter than the former.

"I agree! Being fit can help you in life." The mocha skinned girl said.

"Totally. Hey Abby, wanna be partners in crime?" The other girl asked as she stopped the treadmill.

"You wanna be a criminal?" Abby looked confused as she stopped hers as well. "Gabriella, I thought you were better than this.

"No, silly. I don't mean it like that. Plus you barely know me." Gabriella countered with a carefree grin. "What I mean is, we should have each others' backs! Like a team within a team!"

"I don't like have mini teams." Abby shook her head. "I want the entire team to get along and work together."

"Sure that works too but come on! It'll be fun!" Gabriella insisted as she used her towel to dry off.

"Whoa! What a cool place!" The two of them turned their heads around to see another girl in the gym with them. She has long flowing black hair that reaches until her behind, with the end tied up, but the most noticeable part being the single white streak in her hair. She wear a thin blue dress with a long skirt with extensions showing all the right places yet not showing much of the private parts.

"Hey you." Abby called out to girl. "Wanna exercise with us?"

"No thanks. I'm looking for the place where I can eat." The girl answered.

"I remember the canteen below deck." Gabriella recalled. "So what's-"

"Thanks! Bye bye!" The girl sprinted off out of the gym avoiding all the equipment that were in her path and even doing parkour over them.

"That girl is fast." Abby remarked as she blinked. "And skilled by the looks of it."

"Yea but she didn't introduce herself. How rude." Gabriella pouted a bit.

As Nymeria reached the canteen, she found only one person in the place with her. It's a tall boy with hazel colored eyes and short silver hair spiked backwards. He wears a plain green sweater, blue baggy pants, and sneakers. His eyes were closed and his arms were crossed, not noticing the hyper yet innocent girl walk in. Nymeria noticed there was a crow perched on his shoulder, looking intently at her.

"Hello there, mister crow." She waved at the animal, which kept staring at her. She slowly put her hand down while blinking at it before finally going to the counter to order some food, constantly taking glances at the man and his crow as she did.

* * *

A black colored yacht can be seen sailing far behind the first one, also ferrying people towards the island. The camera panned in on the bar inside it, showing a man drinking a bottle of sake by the counter. He has light green eyes, chin length brownish black hair, and a fixated frown on his lips. He wears a zipped up white and red jacket, brown pants, and blue sneakers.

"Someone is enjoying himself over here." A voice called out to him. He turned around to see a smiling girl with ivory skin, long olive green hair and honey amber colored eyes. She wears an long sleeve shirt, black shorts, and stockings. Around her neck is a black choker and she also wears a pair of black leather gloves. "Care if I join you?"

"Of course." The man gestured to the seat beside him and the girl joined him and called over the bartender. "I'm Hagiwara Kazuo, but you can call me Kazuo."

"I'll have a bottle of Platinka please." She told the bartender, who nodded and went off to make her drink. "My name's Elizabetha Louise. Call me Eliza." The girl introduced herself.

"Nice choice. I wonder what will happen to you if you drink it." The man wondered out loud.

"What do you mean by that? Drinking is fine for me." Eliza tilted her head. The bartender gave her the newly opened bottle of Platinka and started to drink it.

"Really? That is good to know." Kazuo nodded.

"It's almost a pastime now." Eliza shrugged. "So what did you mean earlier? I'm really curious since we're drinking alcohol in the morning."

"Actually, I'm drinking right now because I want to see what will happen if I start the first challenge feeling a bit drunk. It might be interesting." Kazuo said before drinking his alcohol again.

"Is that so? Then it's a good thing I ordered a potent drink." Eliza smirked. "To join you in this little experiment. Although, I hold my alcohol well."

"Then you'll most likely not get affected. That is fine too. I'll just have to see what the effects would be on your body." Kazuo simply said. "Though, it really would be interesting to see if the two of us can survive the first challenge while half drunk."

"You know what? I'll play your game. I'll order another one later then." Eliza nodded with a smile as the bartender gave her her order. She held it out in front of him. "Cheers."

"Cheers." Kazuo clinked bottles with her as they both drank at the same time, laughing as they did.

Meanwhile, two people were playing a video game in the arcade room, sitting beside each other while they played the game intently. One is a chubby boy of Hispanic descent with mocha skin and short brown hair. He wears a golden colored shirt with Chris' face printed in the middle, blue shorts and sandals. His opponent is a taller girl that looks British. She has light violet eyes and jet black hair done up in a single ponytail that reaches until her upper neck. This one wears a blue police uniform minus the hat, and two badges are attached to it.

"I win again!" The boy cheered at his victory in the video game.

"Aw, I lost again. You're pretty good, Tom." The girl sighed in defeat as she pouted. She then smiled and laughed. "But it was a fun game either way."

"Yeah, it's better than fighting the locals from where I come from." Tom said with a slight Mexican accent.

"Then you should ask the others on this boat to play against you. Maybe one of them can beat you." The girl smirked.

"Sorry Jamie, but I don't intend to lose that easily." Tom smirked back. Just then, someone else walked inside the room and went to where they were. It looks to be a person of average height wearing a full body stormtrooper armor and holding a realistic looking blaster rifle. The two looked on and blinked as the stormtrooper took off the helmet and revealed the face of a girl with brown eyes and chin length black hair.

"I see there's already some people playing this game." The girl noted. "I'm Silvia, by the way. Resident cosplayer and nerd." She introduced herself as she put her gun down on a nearby table.

"Nice to meet you." Jamie said to her with a smile. "I'm Jamie and this is Tom. I'm kinda surprised you're proud to be called a nerd. Most people I've met are closet nerds actually."

"It's no use hiding it. My outfit gave it away anyway." Silvia shrugged. "Are you guys gonna play more?"

"Yeah, we're just about to start another round." Tom motioned towards the tv screen where the character select screen can be seen. "Wanna play? By the way, I love the outfit. The gun looks especially realistic." He remarked.

"Thanks. I had my girlfriend help me with it." Silvia smiled. "And sure, I'll play." Jamie moved so she can have some space in between them.

"You can take my spot. I lost to that guy." Jamie smiled sheepishly. Silvia took the controller and began selecting her character just as Tom selected his.

"Who knows? Maybe you'll beat me." Tom said as Silvia chose the stage and the game started.

"I don't like underestimating or overestimating my opponents." Silvia said. "It's not a good habit to pick up. I kinda learned that the hard way." She moved her character well and delivered a few good moves that all connected.

"Assuming what the opposition will bring isn't always a bad thing, but it's not the most reliable thing either." Jamie agreed as she watched the fight and saw that Tom had lost the first round and then the second one afterwards.

"You're actually really good." Tom remarked as he started to play more intently.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself." Silvia gave a slight smile as she easily won the last round.

"No way." Tom blinked as he realized he had lost the match. Jamie patted his back as if to comfort him.

"Well that settles it. Someone in this boat really did beat you." Jamie laughed.

"I can accept that loss." Tom shrugged and he shook hands with Silvia.

"It was a good game." Silvia returned the gesture. "Now, how about we go play billiards?"

The camera panned to the boutique in the yacht, where an energetic girl is pacing around the place and looking at all the clothes with a big grin on her face. She has shoulder length platinum hair, light brownish skin and a clean face, almost resembling that of a porcelain doll. She wears a strapless diamond studded cyan cocktail dress and stilettos, along with pearly bracelets on both her arms and a pearly necklace around her neck.

"Ohmigosh! This is the dress that was on limited sale last week! I'm totes buying this." She exclaimed as she held up a designer dress. She turned and exited the aisle only to accidentally bump into another girl. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there." She quickly apologized.

"It's alright. My camera isn't damaged so all is good." The other girl said. They were nearly the same tall height, and she has crystal blue eyes and short auburn hair that ends in slight curls. She wear a long brown overcoat, a vest over a white blouse and dark brown skinny jeans. "Say cheese." She prepared her camera.

"Oh!" The girl put back the dress in the rack then posed and smiled for the camera. A flash shone through, signaling the photo was taken. "By the way, my name's Winona." She introduced as she got the dress again.

"And I'm Caitlyn." The other girl introduced. "I'm just a normal photographer." She grinned. "I plan on taking pictures of the cast for the memories. Oh and I like your dress."

"Thank you." Winona giggled as she twirled around a bit. "I'm a fashionista, so it's only right that I dress nice for this show!" She exclaimed.

"Well then I look forward to working with you." Caitlyn said. "I should go look at the other rooms. Don't wanna miss out on anything before we leave this yacht."

"Okay! See you at the island!" Winona waved goodbye to her as Caitlyn took her leave, looking at the photo she took from her camera with a side grin as she went.

"I'll get a big scoop from this show or my name isn't Caitlyn Malcolm." She muttered to herself with conviction in her eyes.

The camera switched to the middle deck, where an Asian looking man is looking out into the ocean, admiring the dolphins that passed him by. He has an average height, fair skin, light red eyes and straight jet black hair that reaches down to his upper back done up in a ponytail. He wears a blue shirt with the design being that of Izanagi, brown shorts, and white running shoes. He also wears a golden bracelet on his left arm. He continued to watch the dolphins when someone approached him.

"Did you know that dolphins are mammals and not reptiles?" The newcomer said. The former turned and saw that it was another guy. He has tan skin and short blond curly hair with a chubby build. He wears a red shirt with blue and yellow stripes, black shorts, and Converse shoes. The word 'falso' is tattooed on his left wrist.

"Everyone knows that..." The other boy said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh yeah? You looked like you didn't." The blond haired man smirked. "I'm Antoine, the best trivia master around!"

"I'm Gabriel Herald Thompson..." The ponytail guy introduced. "And nobody told you to drop trivia like that unto me..." He slightly glared at him.

"What's wrong? Too prideful to admit you're dumb?" Antoine smirked again as he turned around. "Whatever, catch you later dumbass." He laughed as he walked away.

"Hmm.." Gabriel thought to himself while glaring after Antoine.

The door to the boiler room suddenly opened and out walked another boy. He has chin length light brown hair and tan skin, and wears a black shirt under a short sleeve jacket, ripped jeans, and hiker boots. He also wore metal vambraces on his arms. What really stood out though was a tattoo mix of Deathstroke and Punisher logos with a sword and gun behind it on his right shoulder blade. He whistled to himself as he walked past Gabriel, with the latter noticing him pocket what looks to be metallic gears and pieces.

"I wonder..." Gabriel muttered to himself as he watched the mysterious boy go to the opposite direction of where Antoine had gone.

* * *

The white yacht arrived at the dock first, the backside opening up the walkway to let the contestants go down. The two hosts waited at the end of the dock, staring up at the walkway to see who would go down first.

"There you have it folks, you're about to see the contestants coming out of this yacht! Let's go meet them, shall we?" Blaineley said with a big smile at the camera.

"I'm pretty sure the audience met them already. We do have cameras inside." Valnoir reminded her with an amused chuckle.

"Quiet, you!" Blaineley snapped. "It's catchy, okay?"

"It's overrated and especially unnecessary now." Valnoir rolled his eyes.

The first one out of the yacht is Quincey, who walked down with confidence and purpose. He did not seem fazed or frightened at the water below and did not even look down at the walkway, simply walking straight with his head held high.

"Good afternoon, sir and madam." Quincey greeted them both with a slight bow.

"Quincey!" Valnoir grinned. "Just Valnoir and Mildred would be alright."

"Blaineley." Blaineley corrected with an irritable glance at the main host. "Call me Blaineley."

"Very well. Valnoir. Blaineley." Quincey smiled at the two hosts as he went to stand over at the side to wait for the others.

"Huh. And he didn't even need to be told to do that." Blaineley blinked.

"At least another person here has common decency." Valnoir smiled which made Blaineley scowl. But before she could say anything, the unknown girl with the white streak of hair bounded down the walkway excitedly and skidded to a stop right in front of the two hosts, grinning innocently.

"Hey there!" She waved at them.

"Hello, Nymeria." Valnoir smiled down at the girl.

"Nymeria? What a weird name." Blaineley remarked as Nymeria went over to Quincey to say hi to him as well.

"Is this coming from someone who isn't proud of her own?" Valnoir raised an eyebrow at her.

"Will you just shut up?" Blaineley groaned. "The next contestants are here."

Sure enough, Jeanette went down the walkway along with Alysson and Jackie.

"Good afternoon, Total Drama!" Jeanette exclaimed with a perfectly executed smile as she waved her hand with grace.

"Hello, viewers! It's Jackie the Jester!" The jester said as well as he somersaulted down at the end of the dock.

"It's great to be here." Alysson chimed in as the three of them made it down safely.

"I don't think you'll have the same comment after a few weeks here." Valnoir smirked.

"We'll see." Alysson winked at him just as Jackie started juggling behind them.

"Look at me everyone!" He said with a grin. Nymeria looked amazed and watched him juggle while Jeanette just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I hate the jester." Blaineley cringed at the sight.

"Well too bad. I accepted his application." Valnoir smirked.

"I also don't wanna know why you accepted the application of a female pokemon trainer." Blaineley pointed at Alysson.

"At least it's a diverse cast." Valnoir simply shrugged. "Speaking of diverse, Daniel is here."

The tall man with the crow perked on his shoulder stepped down the yacht, glancing at all the present contestants as he did so. He did not say anything to them, just giving a short nod to the hosts before standing in a far corner away from his fellow campers.

"So that's his name." Nymeria nodded in understanding. "I saw him at the cafeteria earlier."

"Might that be his pet crow?" Quincey inquired.

"It is." Blaineley affirmed. "Another weirdo Valnoir selected." She sighed.

"Don't worry, the remaining people left in there are normal." Valnoir chuckled.

"Is the government here!? I bet they're here to ambush us!" Keith ran down the walkway in a panic and tripped near the end, causing him to tumble the rest of the way down.

"Is he alright?" Nymeria asked in concern.

"He's like that in the yacht when I met him." Alysson said nonchalantly as they saw Keith groan in pain and get back up.

"It's great to see you too, Keith." Valnoir laughed at the boy's misfortune.

"You said no more weirdos." Blaineley glared at Valnoir.

"He isn't weird, just overly cautious." Valnoir corrected.

"Which is still weird!" The co host insisted.

"So, no government here?" Keith asked as he rubbed his head.

"That's correct. This place is a government-free zone." Valnoir answered while spreading his arms to emphasize his point. "Even underage kids can drink alcohol if they want to."

"How unruly." Jeanette frowned.

"How predictable." Quincey remarked.

Valnoir looked up at the walkway again and saw Abby and Gabriella jogging down together.

"We're here!" Gabriella announced with a huge grin as she and Abby stood in front of the hosts.

"Where are our teams?" Abby asked.

"Slow down there, girls." Blaineley pointed to the gathered contestants behind them. "Go over there first and wait for further announcements."

"Oh, well that's alright too." Gabriella grinned as she went over to go talk to the others with Abby trailing behind her.

"Are we done with this yacht yet?" Blaineley asked impatiently.

"Not so. There is still one more camper in there." Valnoir told her. "Hurry up, Beatrice!"

The short girl revealed herself at the top of the walkway and began descending down. "I'm sorry." She muttered shyly as she continued walking down slowly.

"Let me help you!" Jackie skipped over back at the walkway to hold her hand and help her get down faster. "I gotta introduce you to Nymeria and Alysson!" The jester exclaimed.

"Slow down a bit, will you?" Beatrice pouted a bit as she was being dragged down by Jackie.

"Well that's all from that yacht." Valnoir remarked just as the white yacht left the dock. He could see the black yacht approached the dock in exchange.

"Is that another boat?" Jeanette asked as she squinted across the sea.

"It seems the other contestants have arrived." Quincey remarked.

"Cool! I wanna see what the guys are like." Alysson gave a small giggle.

"You here for love?" Abby asked.

"Maybe." Alysson answered slyly.

"That's fine. Just hope that it doesn't affect team performance, wherever you may end up." Abby shrugged.

"I just hope the government isn't on that other yacht." Keith muttered in anxiety. "It's black after all. Just like their cars and their shades and their suits and everything."

The walkway of the second yacht dropped down into the dock to allow passage. Antoine and Caitlyn walked down first.

"...And that's how cameras were invented." Antoine said matter-of-factly. Caitlyn just rolled her eyes and yawned.

"Yeah that's great and all but I know about that story, not to mention you got some details wrong." Caitlyn said dismissively as they both got down.

"What are you talking about? It's the right trivia!" Antoine said, almost indignantly.

"Caitlyn, Antoine, welcome!" Valnoir greeted the two.

"Can I be placed in a team without this guy?" Caitlyn sighed. "He's ruining the good mood of this place and I can't take photos with him around."

"We'll see. Go stand with the others first." Blaineley ordered. Caitlyn nodded and went to join the bigger group, completely avoiding Antoine as he continued to express anger over the trivia.

Gabriel went down the walkway alone, looking over at the contestants before him as he did, almost as if he's studying and analyzing them. He saw Gabriella widen her eyes at the sight of him but didn't bother approaching him.

"Liking the competition so far, Gabriel?" Valnoir interrupted his train of thought with a smirk.

"I guess..." Gabriel answered plainly as he stood to the side, evidently not wanting to continue the talk.

"Finally a quiet one." Blaineley sighed in relief.

"Daniel is a quiet one too." Valnoir pointed out.

"But he's weird. People with pet crows are weird." Blaineley said irritably.

Tom, Silvia, and Jamie went down the walkway together. Everyone looked their way, clearly surprising with what Silvia is wearing.

"That's right, we got out very own stormtrooper." Tom announced with a proud smirk. Jamie laughed beside him.

"Wrong show! The Sci-Fi Showdown cast is that way!" Antoine called out while pointing out across the sea.

"Impressive." Caitlyn beamed and started taking pictures of Silvia. The stormtrooper realized she was being pictured and decided to do a battle pose for her.

"You seem used to this." Jamie remarked.

"It's more like my instinct now." Silvia said as they joined the cast.

"Are you one of those soldiers from Star Wars?" Jackie exclaimed as he skipped over to them. Caitlyn joined them as well.

"Yeah, I'm a stormtrooper." Silvia said as she took off her helmet. "Thanks for taking my picture, by the way." She turned to Caitlyn.

"It was simply marvelous. I like how you handled the pose. That's one for the papers." Caitlyn beamed.

"Thank you. This is my first time cosplaying a Star Wars character so I was afraid I wouldn't pull it off." Silvia admitted.

"The gun is fake, yes?" Jeanette asked Quincey.

"Indeed. It looks realistic, but it is fake." Quincey nodded.

"Hey wait a minute, where's Chris?" Tom asked no one in particular as he looked at the two hosts then back at Jamie.

"Isn't he hosting a different season?" Jamie tilted her head.

"He is. We're the hosts for this season." Valnoir interjected. "I'm Valnoir and this is Blaineley."

"Oh good, Blaineley is here. She'll do a great job as a host." Tom grinned at Blaineley, who smirked at Valnoir.

"See? I have fans." She arrogantly stated. Valnoir looked calm, however.

"But she's just my co-host. I'm the main host of this season." Valnoir smiled, almost evil in nature."

"What!?" Tom looked shocked to hear it. "A newbie is the main host!?"

"I'm as shocked as you are, kid." Blaineley smirked. Valnoir rolled his eyes.

"Just go stand with the others." He glared at the boy, who immediately rejoined the others.

The boy with the metal vambraces walked down the walkway next, inspecting a metal gear and a cog.

"This could be useful." He said to himself.

"Welcome, Caleb!" Valnoir exclaimed a bit too loudly. This caused Caleb to lose his focus and get startled, accidentally dropping what he was holding into the water below.

"Nooo!" He cried as he kneeled down at the edge of the dock and peered down. He saw the pieces fall deeper into the water.

"My bad. Pardon me." Valnoir laughed sadistically.

"You might actually be good after all." Blaineley nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'm not, Mildred." Valnoir smirked at her, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Hey everyone!" Winona called out from the top of the walkway as she strutted down. "The fashionista has arrived!"

Caitlyn took a few shots of her, with Winona doing a different pose each time.

"So fashionable!" Nymeria exclaimed as she clapped.

"But it's not fit for the outdoors though." Gabriella frowned a bit.

"Nice entrance, Winona." Valnoir complimented as Winona joined the rest of the cast.

"I try." The fashionista giggled.

"We're down to our last two campers." Blaineley announced. "Just where are they?"

As if on cue, Elizabetha and Kazuo revealed themselves and together they staggered down the walkway, always coming dangerously close over the edge but not exactly falling. They had their arms wrapped each other's shoulders and were laughing.

"This is a fun start." Eliza giggled as they made it down safely, much to everyone's surprise.

"Are they drunk?" Jamie blinked.

"I don't think so..." Gabriel answered. "A bit tipsy maybe, but otherwise they're fine..."

"How are you sure?" The police officer asked.

"Observations..." Gabriel said dismissively as he looked away.

"Yo, we gonna get this thing started or what?" Kazuo directed his attention towards Valnoir and Blaineley while giving a laugh.

"Yes, you both are the last ones." Blaineley nodded, a bit weirded out.

"Welcome, Kazuo and Elizabetha." Valnoir greeted with a smile, clearly amused with their tipsy state. "Looks like you're starting this season off with a bit of a...handicap."

"No no no. It's an experiment." Kazuo corrected with a wide grin. "We're gonna do the first challenge while tipsy. We wanna see where it leads us."

"Maybe we'll even be the first ones to finish it." Eliza laughed. "By the way, call me Eliza."

"Or you know, die trying." Antoine rolled his eyes. "Such inferior human beings."

"Well either way, it amuses me." Valnoir chuckled. The black yacht left the docks soon after. "Now that everyone is here, let's all group up together for a picture."

"Yay! Group picture!" Nymeria cheered. The crow on Daniel's shoulder made a sound, which startled her a bit.

Caitlyn handed her camera to Blaineley before joining the cast and getting into position with them. Most of them had smiles on their faces, others did poses along with it and a few had neutral looks.

"I'm not even gonna bother counting this off." Valnoir shook his head and just motioned for Blaineley to take their picture.

"What a boring host." Blaineley rolled her eyes. "One...two...three!" She counted off and snapped the picture.

"I wanna see it!" Winona exclaimed as she went over to check on Caitlyn's camera. "I love my pose here." She squealed.

"It's just a picture." Antoine rolled his eyes. "Not that it matters."

"A picture contains a thousand words. How's that for trivia?" Caitlyn smirked.

"But that's a quote!" Antoine retorted.

"That's enough! We still have a challenge to do." Blaineley interrupted.

"It is actually quite simple." Valnoir said. "There are two cabins located around the island, and the two teams must race to either one in order to win the challenge. Remember, all members must be present in that one cabin for it to count as a win. There are no other rules aside from the obvious ones in the application." He chuckled.

"Okay so what are the teams then?" Abby asked.

"I'm glad you asked." Valnoir laughed. "Remember, the people who went down with you on the same yacht?"

"Yeah of course." Jackie grinned widely.

"Wait, I think I know where this is going." Jeanette realized.

"Your teams are the same people from that yacht!" Valnoir announced. This was met by collective gasps and groans from the contestants.

"Yes!" Jamie pulled atom and Silvia into a group hug. Alysson winked at Keith, who didn't notice as he was bust looking intently at the trees.

"No..." Gabriel sighed as he risked a glance at Antoine, who smirked at him. He groaned and just shook his head.

"Now for the team names." Valnoir snapped his fingers and an intern went to him and gave him and Blaineley a banner each. "Those who rode the white yacht, this is yours." He tossed one to Quincey which he caught easily. "From now on you will be known as the White Stallions!" The banner was unfurled to reveal a galloping horse with a white background.

"Not bad." Beatrice said softly with a smile.

"I like horses." Gabriella said. "They're beautiful and majestic." Gabriel rolled his eyes when he heard her say that.

"This one is for the one who rode the black yacht." Blaineley announced as she tossed the banner to Jamie, who also caught it with ease. "You guys are known as the Black Knights!" The police officer unfurled the banner to reveal a knight in black armor wielding a greatsword confidently.

"Sounds medieval." Caleb grinned.

"The armor looks so fashionable. Was it a trend back then?" Winona asked.

"Maybe. I mean I always thought their armor looks relatively the same." Silvia shrugged.

"Quiet! The challenge is gonna start soon but first we want to know your thoughts about the season." Blaineley said. "There are confessional outhouses everywhere so just go to one and tell the audience what you think or anything personal you want to share."

"With that said, your challenge starts..." Valnoir paused for effect. "Now!"

Everyone began sprinting in various directions, some of them desperately trying to find their team and follow them while others trying to take the lead.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Tom:** Okay so the newbie host isn't so monad but I still think Blaineley should be the main host! She's the veteran one. I can't stand this disrespect!

 **Jamie:** I don't have much to say actually, but I guess I wanna give a shoutout to my family back home. I know my brother, Nicholas, is on a different season but I'm excited to win this one. Seriously though, will Kazuo and Eliza be alright? Maybe I should keep a close eye on them.

 **Caitlyn:** I'm gonna admit something here, I'm not actually just any photographer. I'm a journalist, and I plan on getting a big scoop here in this season. Isn't this great? I wonder what secrets this island holds. I wonder what secrets the other cast members hold. Stay with me everyone because Caitlyn Malcolm will uncover it all!

 **Jackie:** I promise to bring as much joy as possible in this show! I heard it could get really messy and cutthroat in here but I just wanna have fun and make friends. Beatrice is already my friend ever since I talked to her in that theatre and I wanted to be friends with that stormtrooper but there is just one problem. *his face suddenly turns deathly serious* She is in the other team and therefore someone I should defeat in order for my team to win.

 **Jeanette:** This season will surely be full of surprises. But whatever those surprises are, I will be there to help lead my team to victory by carefully planning out perfect strategies. They will see me as an asset, and it's a free merge pass for me. *she smiled confidently*

 **Alysson:** This is actually working out for me. I'm gonna admit something to you guys. *there is short pause* I'm not a girl. I'm a guy! Surprise! I was told that I kinda look like a girl so I'm gonna use that to its full advantage in this game. So far, things are going great. Well, except for things with Keith though.

 **~End Confessional~**

The camera now showed a nearly empty dock, with only the two hosts present.

"The teams have been decided and now the challenge is underway." Valnoir announced with a grin.

"Will the White Stallions make it to the cabin first, or will the Black Knights seize the day?"

"The cast has been introduced and now it's time to see them in action as their leadership skills and teamwork will be tested." Valnoir added. "Find out next time on Total..."

"Drama..." Blaineley chimed in.

"Forgotten Island!" They both finished in unison.

* * *

 **This is my second story, everyone. Please do not worry as I have not abandoned my first story, which is the Total Drama Sci-Fi Showdown. I merely posted this so that all of you will be aware of my next project afterwards. I'll still give heavy focus on the merge phase of the first story but I'll be posting bits of this one too in the process. So tell me what you think of this cast by leaving a review and I will see you all next time! :) XBloodLegendX**


	2. 1 pt2: 19 Ways to Lose

The camera shows the aerial view of the Forgotten Island in midday, before panning down until it showed the docks where the two hosts waited. Valnoir and Blaineley gave their smiles to the camera as they started off the show. "Welcome back to Total Drama Forgotten Island!" The male host started.

"Last episode, our twenty campers have been introduced." Blaineley said. "We've got a cast of diverse and very weird personalities." She rolled her eyes.

"But that's what will make this show a lively one," Valnoir interjected. "because the campers who were in the same yacht became instant teammates. The black yacht campers are known as the Black Knights while the ones in the white yacht are the White Stallions."

"And with that, the first challenge was given." Blaineley chimed in. "Find the cabin before the other team. Simple as that."

"But though it is simple, the stakes are high." Valnoir gave a sadistic grin. "Because the losing team will face elimination tonight!" He cackled.

"Jeez, you laugh like that?" Blaineley cringed.

"Get used to it." Valnoir chuckled.

"Whatever." Blaineley rolled her eyes. "Anyway, which team will win this challenge and which one will face elimination?"

"Will teamwork see them through or will individual skills do it for them?" Valnoir added.

"Find out now on Total..." Blaineley started.

"Drama..." Valnoir chimed in with a grin.

"Forgotten Island!" They finished together.

* * *

 **(White Stallions** **)**

The team moved quickly through the woods with Quincey, Abby, and Gabriella in the lead. Everyone else trailed behind with Jeanette and Alysson bringing up the rear.

"We should find a clearing and scan the area from there." Jeanette called out to the front. "We do not know how far these woods go."

"By the looks of it, we are already at the thick of it." Quincey called out to her. "The cabin should be further ahead."

"So why did you wear a dress for this show?" Alysson asked Jeanette.

"It's to represent my high social status of course." Jeanette scoffed. "Not to mention my taste in fashion."

"Oh, really?" Alysson tilted his head.

"And as for you, are you supposed to be a cartoon character?" Jeanette looked him up and down. "However, those clothes do seem functional."

"I like wearing it." Alysson shrugged. "Pokemon is kinda my thing. Guys like girls who dress up as a character from their favorite game." He winked after saying that.

"The appeal is fine, but you do not look that physically fit." Jeanette said bluntly.

"I'll make it work." Alysson pouted.

"And I may find a use for you, yet." Jeanette said dismissively as she ran on ahead of him. Alysson glared after her but said nothing.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Alysson:** She thinks she can just size up my worth just like that? Is that how rich and snobby girls are like? Well, we'll see just how powerful and mighty she'll be after I woo all the guys in my team! *he smirks confidently*

 **Jeanette:** Alysson is the kind of girl that wants to get the boys' attention so that she'll make it far. But as a challenge strategist, I refuse to allow such a freeloader on my team. If she cannot prove her worth in challenges then I have no use for her. And did I mention that pokemon fashion is so last year ago?

 **~End Confessional~**

Daniel ran alongside Nymeria and Keith, with his crow soaring high above him to scout ahead. Nymeria curiously looked up at the black bird.

"So what's its name?" Nymeria asked Daniel while pointing up at the bird. The latter did not respond nor look her way. Keith noticed this and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"What if he's a government spy?" He suddenly blurted out so they can both hear him. This got Daniel's attention as he looked back with a raised eyebrow but still said nothing. Nymeria gasped.

"A teenage boy!? How can they do this!?" The girl frowned deeply.

"The government does a lot of inhumane acts." Keith shook his head solemnly. "They probably subjected him to an experiment where his soul is bind to that crow." He guessed.

Daniel looked at both of them as if they were crazy and ran ahead, his crow making a sound before dropping down to perch on his shoulder again.

"What should we do?" Nymeria whispered to Keith.

"Normally I'd subdue him and run like hell afterwards while wearing a tin foil hat, but the only way to get him off our case is to vote him out." Keith decided.

"Then we'll do that! For his sake too." Nymeria grinned.

"Not so loud! He might hear and call the CIA on us." Keith widened his eyes at her anxiously. Nymeria nodded quickly while making a zipped up lips motion.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Keith:** *is wearing a tin foil hat* I swear that Daniel is a government spy! He's here to spy on me because I'm close to uncovering their secrets and expose them for what they really are! But he won't get me, and hopefully Nymeria will be smart enough to vote him out at elimination too. Maybe I can try to throw this challenge so we can lose.

 **Nymeria:** I wonder what it's like to be experimented upon by the government. I watch movies that show what they do to you but it's all from different perspectives. Maybe I could ask Daniel what it feels like.

 **~End Confessional~**

Beatrice tried to keep up with Jackie, who ran ahead of her to see where they were headed.

"Jackie? Could you slow down?" Beatrice asked softly but the jester gave no response. Beatrice tried to see his face and she saw him being completely serious, a side she has not seen before. "Jackie?"

"Beatrice, hurry up." Jackie called out to her as he glanced back. "We must not lose on our first challenge." He urged.

"I'll try." She said as she ran a bit faster. Jackie sighed in annoyance and slowed down so she could catch up to him.

"Can't you run any faster? We're going to lose." The jester said. "Look, I'll just carry you." Without waiting for an answer, he swooped her off her feet and began running again with her in his arms.

"Waahh!" Beatrice exclaimed as she looked up and saw Jackie carrying her bridal style. "What are you doing!?"

"We need to hurry up." Jackie said simply and seriously, completely unlike his attitude back on the yacht. "If you fall behind, they'll blame you for it and vote you off."

"Well that's true." Beatrice conceded. "But only this one time." She stated.

"We'll see." Jackie answered before focusing on the path ahead.

Quincey stopped the moment he reached a clearing in the woods. Abby and Gabriella, the two close behind him, stopped as well and looked around.

"This is a problem." Gabriella frowned. "There's no sign of it anywhere."

"Do we risk splitting the team?" Abby asked. "It could help us cover more ground."

"I can agree to that." Quincey nodded. Soon, everyone on the team had caught up.

"Why did we stop?" Jackie asked. "The other team are still on the move!"

"I believe we need to come up with a strategy." Jeanette placed a hand on her chin in thought.

"We already did." Abby interjected. "We're going to split the team into smaller groups."

"Oh?" Jeanette narrowed her eyes at Abby, clearly irritated by her.

"I will go alone along this path." Quincey decided as he pointed down a path that looked jagged and unsafe.

"Really? Abby and I can accompany you." Gabriella offered.

"I prefer working alone." Quincey said firmly.

"Hey, this is still a team effort-" Abby tried to say but Quincey had already took off down the path on his own. "Fine. Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Gabriella and Nymeria, you're both with me." She said as she pointed at the two girls before heading down another path.

"Yay! Adventure!" Nymeria cheered as she followed them.

"I cannot believe they just did that without my consent." Jeanette huffed.

"Beatrice and I will go down this path." Jackie said then started sprinting down a much clearer path, still carrying Beatrice in his arms.

"Then that leaves me with the rest of you." Jeanette turned around to see only Keith and Alysson there. "Hold on, where is Daniel?"

"I saw him sneak away deeper into the woods." Keith answered while giving an anxious glance at the trees. "Maybe to report in our situation to his superior."

"Can we just move on already?" Alysson sighed as he went down the last path away from the clearing.

"Yes but I'll be leading us through." Jeanette insisted as she hurriedly went in front of Alysson and took the lead.

 **~End Confessional~**

 **Jackie:** I really don't like losing. Not that I'm a bad loser or anything but I just get this urge that I have to try to win no matter what. I gotta push my body to its limits in order to win challenges, even though Beatrice's weight is starting to take a toll on me. *he sighs*

 **Jeanette:** Did Abby just tell the team what to do without my consent? How dare she!? And to think that Quincey isn't willing to become a team player shows just how he acts in challenges. Although, I could still use that to my advantage someday. I just need to exert control over the team. I'll start by winning over Alysson and Keith, though by the looks of it it might take some work. Not to mention I'm not very fond of Alysson.

 **Abby:** As the head team manager I'm used to barking out orders like that. That doesn't mean I'm lazy though so don't get the wrong idea! I just had to step in like that so we wouldn't fall behind. Oh shoot, I forgot to tell them what our signal will be when one group finds the cabin! Darn it!

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Black Knights)**

The team were currently running through a rocky terrain that leads up to the tall hills on the island. Caitlyn and Jamie took the lead while Kazuo and Eliza brought up the rear, clearly still tipsy from the liquor they just drank.

"I still can't believe they drank alcohol back at the yacht." Jamie frowned as she glanced back at them. "They're making a bad example for the younger audience."

"I don't think morals amount to much in this show." Caitlyn shrugged as she paused for a bit to take pictures of the scenery. "Chris is pretty sadistic you know."

"Yeah but we have a new host." Jamie pointed out. "Sure Blaineley is still here but she isn't the main host of the season."

"You're talking about Valnoir, right?" Caitlyn clarified. "To be honest, there isn't much information about him. At least, nothing interesting shows up in the database."

"You have access to a database? I thought you were just a photographer." Jamie tilted her head. Caitlyn smiled innocently.

"I've got friends in the force." The journalist simply said.

"Well I'm from the force and we can be friends." Jamie giggled.

"That would be nice. Having allies is a good thing." Caitlyn smiled.

"I'm also friends with Tom and Silvia so we're a pretty big group now." Jamie added.

"Not bad. I think I'll stick with you guys." Caitlyn said as they heard the sounds of a riverbank. "Let's follow the river. Maybe the cabin is along the riverbank." She suggested. Jamie nodded and they started to go along the riverbank.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Caitlyn:** I can have as many allies as I want just so long as I don't get found out. If I can have multiple alliances, then I'm basically safe for the entire first half of the season. I think I can get the others to be in an alliance with me because of my great persuasion skills. *she smirks proudly*

 **~End Confessional~**

Antoine ran faster to keep up with Gabriel who was running alongside Tom. Gabriel saw this and rolled his eyes.

"Trivia maniac incoming..." He sighed.

"Hey guys! Wanna know a cool fact about rivers?" Antoine smirked at them.

"No so go away..." Gabriel grumbled.

"I'm not really interested either." Tom answered. "I'm more interested in finding out why a newbie host is the main host and now the glorious Blaineley." He clenched his fist.

"Come on, someone has to inject knowledge into your dumb brains." Antoine insisted.

"Hey, I'm not dumb." Tom protested.

"Don't bother with him..." Gabriel told him. "Just ignore him and keep running..." He said as he ran ahead of them.

"You're just avoiding me because you're not as smart as I am!" Antoine called out arrogantly. "Can you believe that guy?" He turned towards Tom.

"I can't even believe you." Tom rolled his eyes as he ran ahead as well. Antoine grumbled in annoyance and just trailed behind them.

Silvia saw all this happen and thought to herself while holding her helmet in her hands. Her train of thought was interrupted when Winona came up to her with a smile.

"Hey there." The fashionista greeted.

"Oh, hi there." Silvia greeted back with a smile.

"I heard you made quite the entrance back there, huh?" Winona giggled as she held out her hand. "I'm Winona, but I think you already know that since I was introduced third to the last. I can tell we're gonna be fast friends!" Silvia reached out and shook her hand.

"I'm Silvia. I'm a cosplayer and resident nerd." The stormtrooper introduced. "And yeah, I can see us become friends. We did leave them breathless with our entrances."

"So what do you think of our teammates right now?" Winona asked her as she motioned towards their team.

"I can tell that those two back there don't care much about the challenge." Silvia glanced back at Eliza and Kazuo, who were struggling to keep up because of their tipsy state. "And nobody seems to like Antoine very much."

"I noticed that too." Winona chirped. "Do you think we should vote him out?"

"Well he may be annoying but he isn't a slouch." Silvia shrugged. "We'll just have to see."

 **~Confessional~**

 **Silvia:** Even though Antoine basically drew himself a big target on his back for his attitude, I don't like letting my emotions judge my decisions too much. I want to be the team player that will vote out the weakest links only. That way, our team can get stronger and stronger. Winona doesn't seem weak despite the fact she's wearing a cocktail dress outdoors so I believe she'll be a good investment.

 **Winona:** It's only day one and I've made two friends already! This is so amazing! I was kinda hoping to befriend everyone on my team but some others may take a little more effort and understanding. I'm talking about Antoine, Kazuo, and Eliza of course.

 **~End Confessional~**

Bringing up the rear were Kazuo, Eliza, and Caleb. Caleb was busy looking around the rocks for something, ignoring the other two.

"Hey Caleb!" Eliza called out to him a bit too loudly. "Eyes on the prize!"

"I'm looking for something here." Caleb grunted as he kept searching.

"Can't that wait? We have a challenge to do!" Eliza scoffed. "If we lose then we're voting you out."

"Don't be too harsh on him, we don't know his story." Kazuo said as he lightly shoved Eliza playfully. "What if we vote...vote out someone who is strong on our team? Isn't that much more fun?"

"It kinda is." Eliza laughed and so did Kazuo. Caleb frowned and tried to go on ahead but Kazuo wrapped one arm around his shoulder to make him stay.

"Don't leave us, Caleb. What if an alien abducts us?" Kazuo said as he looked up at the sky.

"Aliens aren't real." Caleb said bluntly.

"Maybe in another timeline, sure." Kazuo laughed.

"Can I go now?" Caleb sighed. "I'm trying to find more things I can use in the future. Both of you are distracting me."

"But you look like a hobo doing it." Eliza laughed as she also wrapped her arm around the boy's shoulder.

"But it's none of your business." Caleb rolled his eyes.

"Hey, hurry up!" Antoine called out to the three of them. "We found the cabin."

 **~Confessional~**

 **Eliza:** The cabin? Yeah right. Surely this won't be that easy. *she rolls her eyes*

 **Kazuo:** So far the results are good. We brought up the rear and got to bond with Caleb. I wonder what would have happened if we didn't get tipsy and ran alongside those in front. I say that Caleb would be all alone and maybe even side track and go the wrong way. My choice made sure the team stayed together.

 **Caleb:** I'm just here minding my own business and these two just had to ruin it like that? I'm seriously going to get bored in here if I don't find something to work on.

 **~End Confessional~**

Jamie pointed down the riverbank where the cabin can be seen. It was located further down and across where they are, though the only means to get there is through hopping over the small rocks that formed a path towards it. The river current is especially strong in that area, making it dangerous to traverse.

"Only a little bit further, everyone!" Jamie exclaimed to her teammates.

"And if any of us falls in...back to square one..." Gabriel sighed with a shake of his head.

"Don't be so pessimistic." Winona frowned. "We can do it!"

"Says the person wearing stilettos..." Gabriel droned.

"Are you people that dumb to stall here or are we gonna do this?" Antoine crossed his arms impatiently.

"How about you go first then?" Caitlyn retorted. Antoine scoffed and went on ahead of them.

"I will." He said defiantly.

"Will this be alright?" Jamie asked. "Antoine isn't a very good leader by the looks of it."

"Just look at it this way." Eliza said in her tipsy state as she and Kazuo caught up. "If he fails then we can vote him off. Then everyone is happyyyy." She giggles.

"I can get behind that." Jamie shrugged and continued on walking. Silvia looked beside her and saw Tom muttering to himself.

"What's up?" The stormtrooper asked him.

"I'm seriously bothered that Blaineley isn't leading this season." Tom sighed. "How can I compete properly knowing that?"

"Hey, you need to get your game face on." Silvia urged. "Don't let the team see this or else they'll vote you out."

"That wouldn't be so bad. Lost motivation." Tom sighed. "Let's just get this over with." He went on ahead of her. Silvia frowned as she watched him go before Caleb went up to her.

"Did he break up with you? I'm so sorry." Caleb said to her solemnly.

"What? No!" Silvia protested. "I'm taken already. It's just that he's not trying hard to win like the rest of us."

"Well so am I." Caleb shrugged. "Without something to tinker, I get bored easily. Like right now, for instance."

"But we're in the middle of the challenge." Silvia reasoned. "We should be taking this seriously so we can win and not vote someone out."

"I don't know. I feel like voting out either Eliza or Kazuo tonight." Caleb shrugged.

"Why are you even thinking like this? Focus on the challenge!" Silvia encouraged. Kazuo heard their conversation and sped down a bit to match their pace.

"I know you don't like me but ever thought of what would happen if you voted off someone you like rather than someone you hate for a change?" Kazuo suggested.

"Look, if you need me, I'll be minding my own business. Don't worry, I'll cross the rocks too." Caleb said dismissively as he went away from the group and began searching around the rocks again. Silvia just shook her head in disappointment and wore her helmet again.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Silvia:** The team isn't banding together and it sucks! Don't they see that this has to be a team effort? Eliza and Kazuo are probably drunk, Tom is depressed because of the host thing, and Caleb is just minding his own business. And to think it's all happening on day one. *she sighs and taps her fake blaster gun* I can't wait to see what the coming days have for us.

 **Antoine:** I'll show my team just how superior I am by being the first to cross those platform of rocks. You'll see, they'll be in shock and awe after this and maybe they'll even bow down. *he laughs loudly*

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(White Stallions)**

Abby, Nymeria, and Gabriella wandered down a path that had few trees. They could hear a few birds chirping around them which caught Gabriella's attention for the most part.

"I take it you like birds?" Abby asked her teammate.

"Only some kinds of birds." Gabriella answered. "Usually the ones only found in tropical rain forests."

"So you don't like Daniel's crow?" Nymeria tilted her head.

"Not one bit." Gabriella laughed. "What a weird choice for a pet."

"I wonder why he brought it though." Abby said as she looked down in thought.

"Keith said he might be a government spy." Nymeria said in almost a whisper.

"What was that? A government spy?" Gabriella gave an amused scoff. "I kinda suspected Keith to be a little nuts, but this takes it to a whole new level."

"Yeah, we shouldn't really judge him like that without talking to him first." Abby said. "I learned that when I was in charge of training new recruits for the soccer team. Appearances can be deceiving and so can their personality. You never know when they could be a beast when it comes to playing."

"You look like you're talking about a specific person." Gabriella smirked.

"Oooh, is it a boy? I bet it's a boy!" Nymeria exclaimed giddily. This made Abby blush a bit.

"Um, it's nothing! Can we change the topic now?" Abby said quickly.

"Aw, come on. Tell us." Gabriella insisted.

"Hey we still have a challenge to do." Abby said as she hurried down the path. Gabriella laughed more and Nymeria went to catch up.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Abby:** I didn't want to indulge them in my personal life that quickly. Trust is something that is earned after all. But otherwise, they're both really good people and I'm glad I got to be in the same team as them.

 **Gabriella:** I like Abby and Nymeria. They both like outdoors and are fun to be with! I hope nobody in the team votes them off, or me for that matter. I don't know what Nymeria can do yet but if that little display of parkour back at the yacht proved anything, it's that she can probably do much more when it comes to physical challenges.

 **~End Confessional~**

Jeanette, Keith, and Alysson all walked down the same path that led out of the woods. They could already see much more sunlight in the distance, making them increase their pace a bit.

"You think Daniel told them of my position?" Keith said a bit anxiously.

"I keep telling you that Daniel is not a spy." Jeanette sighed.

"You don't know that!" Keith insisted, looking around in a paranoid state.

"You're cute when you're paranoid." Alysson flirted.

"No I'm not." Keith glared at her. "You're just trying to get close to me because you're in cahoots with Daniel too!" He accused.

"But I'm not!" Alysson said in shock.

"You're putting on this flirtatious facade so you can learn my secrets and then create an 'accident' afterwards. Too bad though because I know all your ways!" Keith exclaimed as he moved away from Alysson.

"Will you both please cease this nonsense this instant!?" Jeanette raised her voice angrily. "We are in the middle of a challenge. If we lose, I am blaming this on both of you." Jeanette sighed.

"I just want to vote out Daniel." Keith grumbled.

"No we're not doing that, because we're gonna win and I'll lead us to that victory." Jeanette said confidently. "So hurry up you two."

Alysson sighed to himself as he watched Keith continue to ignore him and move ahead.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Alysson:** Keith is going to be a but hard to win over. Should I just give up on him and move on to Daniel? Actually, the jester seems nice too. I'll go try my chances with him later on after this.

 **~End Confessional~**

Jackie jogged alongside Beatrice now, panting a bit due to the pain he felt after carrying her that far.

"Are you alright? Sorry to be such a burden." Beatrice apologized shyly. "I'll try to run faster."

"Alright." Was all Jackie said as he stared ahead of him, searching for the cabin. "Just keep your eyes peeled and focus. We might overlook it." He ordered.

"Got it." Beatrice hastily said, still surprised about Jackie's change of behavior.

"It has to be around here somewhere. We're almost at the edge of the forest." Jackie muttered.

"Do you think the others found it already?" Beatrice asked.

"I'm not sure. We should find a way to contact them if we do find it." Jackie looked up at the sky. "Remember, everyone on the team must be present."

"Oh, right." Beatrice realized.

"That Abby thought too quickly. It's dangerous." Jackie shook his head. "But I'll deal with her later. For now, winning is our priority."

"Y-Yes." Beatrice stammered a bit.

After weaving through the forest a bit more, they found themselves at the end of the forest. It was a clear grassy meadow with a single large oak tree towering high. In its shade is a medium sized wooden cabin, and a sign beside it.

"We did it!" Jackie cheered as he rushed over to the cabin with a victorious smile. "This is really it."

"Hmm?" Beatrice went over to the sign and looked at the only symbol embedded on it. It is a men's sign. "But what does this mean?"

"A men's sign?" Jackie also looked confused. "I don't really know. But I do have one guess." Just then, Jeanette, Keith, and Alysson appear from another side of the forest exit.

"Looks like you guys found it first. Well done." Jeanette complimented.

"And no sign of Daniel anywhere." Keith looked around suspiciously. "I knew it." Alysson just rolled his eyes at that remark.

"Now how do we get the others' attentions?" Alysson asked his team.

"Maybe if someone screams loud enough." Beatrice suggested.

Jackie nodded and let out a loud ear splitting shriek that sounded all throughout the forest, causing all the birds to fly up and away in fright.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" The jester yelled at the top of his lungs for a few seconds. The others with him covered their ears and closed their eyes, trying their best to resist the sound. When the was done, they tentatively took their hands off their ears.

"By the stars." Jeanette looked on in surprise. "That was terrifying."

"Maybe you're the government screamer!" Keith accused as his body shook in anxiety.

"Okay that's just weird." Alysson deadpanned.

"It's a thing! I swear!" Keith insisted.

"They better be here soon." Jackie mumbled. He looked towards Beatrice, who gasped and looked away. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing." Beatrice answered. Jackie just shrugged and continued looking at the forest, hoping their teammates make it there quickly.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Beatrice:** Jackie is scary when he's that serious. And that shriek, oh God I don't think I can talk to him normally after that. *she frowns*

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Black Knights)**

The team reached the part of the river where the current was stronger and the platform of rocks can be seen.

"We're here." Caitlyn announced.

"Now we have to cross it." Silvia looked at the path. "Who wants to go first?"

"Me!" Kazuo volunteered.

"Are you sure? Maybe I should help you." Jamie offered.

"Why thank you. I do wanna find out what happens when such a pretty police officer like you helps me out." Kazuo winked at her, making Jamie blush a bit at the comment.

"L-Let's just go." The police officer said. Kazuo nodded and leaped over to the first rock. Everyone gasped as he did, but he surprisingly kept his balance. He leaped over the other one without breaking rhythm. "Hey you're not so bad at this." She leaped at the rock he was previously in and followed him, ready to help him out if ever.

"This is almost too easy." Kazuo thought aloud. "I wonder what would happen if I deliberately fell in."

"Wait, what?" Jamie blinked. She could only stare in shock as Kazuo purposely fell into the river. "Hey!" She leaped to another rock then reached out to grab his arm.

"What is that guy doing?" Caitlyn exclaimed. Luckily, Jamie was able to latched unto Kazuo's arm and used all her strength to make sure he didn't get carried away by the current.

"I'll help!" Eliza slurred a bit as she staggered towards the rocks.

"Why do the tipsy ones always go first?..." Gabriel sighed.

"Coming!" Eliza announced as she started leaping from rock to rock expertly despite her current condition. She grabbed on to Kazuo's other arm and helped Jamie pull him back up to the platform.

"Thanks guys. You're the best." Kazuo said gratefully as he continued on to the other side.

"But what was that all about?" Jamie wondered as she followed him. Eliza was the third person to make it through. "Alright, who's next?" She called out.

"Looks unsafe if Kazuo slipped in." Antoine remarked.

"It looked like he was deliberately doing it." Silvia noticed. "But we can question him later." She carefully made her way across, making sure her armor didn't make her slip.

"I should remove these first." Winona took off her stilettos and began crossing while barefoot.

"Let's get this over with..." Gabriel grunted as he followed suit. They both carefully crossed the path and managed to make it to the other side. They joined Jamie, Kazuo, Silvia, and Eliza there.

"I wonder if there are any interesting things in the water." Caleb said as he began to cross.

"Don't even think about it." Silvia called out. "Just cross and we can win this thing."

"Sheesh. Fine then." Caleb sighed as he kept his focus on where he was going.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Caleb:** Does anyone even care about what I want? I'm leaving them alone so it's only natural they do the same, right?

 **Jamie:** That little stunt Kazuo pulled could have costed us the challenge and put him in danger! What was he thinking? Although, I admit he is kinda cute. *she giggles* But that's beside the point! I'll go confront him about this later. Maybe that will teach him to stray from the goal.

 **~Confessional~**

Meanwhile, over at the cabin where some of the White Stallion members are gathered, they all saw Daniel emerge from the forest.

"There he is! The spy!" Keith exclaimed.

"Can you give it a rest already?" Jeanette sighed. "Come on over and join us." She called out to Daniel. The boy nodded and walked over to where they are, his crow looking at each and every one of them.

"So, what's the crow's name?" Alysson asked as he approached him. "Maybe it's a cool name too, like yours." He added with a wink. Daniel didn't answer him, just stared at him. "Maybe it's personal. I'll just forget about it then." Alysson chuckled awkwardly after a moment of pure silence then walked away.

"I wonder why he won't talk." Beatrice wondered out loud.

"Maybe he's shy too." Jackie guessed.

"Then why don't you go talk to him? You know, like how you did when you saw me at the theater." Beatrice looked at the jester.

"We are in the middle of the challenge. It's time to put on game faces not make jokes and be happy." Jackie said evenly as he looked back at the forest exit.

"Oh, okay." Beatrice frowned a bit. She glanced towards Daniel who seemed to be patting his crow's head. "But that's weird. I don't sense anything at all from him." She muttered to herself. By this time, Abby, Gabriella, and Nymeria arrived.

"Sorry for the wait you guys!" Gabriella waved to the team.

"Did someone bring a megaphone? That was one loud shriek." Abby asked.

"Nope. Just me." Jackie told her simply. Abby blinked at the jester in utter shock.

"Hey look, crow guy is here already." Nymeria was about to go over to Daniel but Keith stopped her.

"Don't go close to him. He might suddenly brainwash you and get all the information I just told you." Keith warned.

"Oh no! That's gonna end up badly." Nymeria covered her mouth.

"Exactly, so just stay away from him until we can find a proper countermeasure." Keith told her. Nymeria nodded with conviction. Jeanette saw all this and just rolled her eyes.

"All that's left is to wait for Quincey." Jeanette said as she looked up at the sky.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Beatrice:** This might come off as weird or something but I have to tell you guys that I can sense people's futures. Like a foresight or something like that. It's faint, but I know it's real and some of my predictions actually happen. Like there was this one guy I sensed was having a rough day and I felt that the despair got stronger. Turns out, a few days afterward I heard that he failed most of his exams and his parents grounded him. Poor guy. But anyway, I sense nothing from Daniel. It's weird. Then again, so is this foresight thing.

 **Abby:** Wait, are you serious? Jackie screamed that loudly? Like for real? That's amazing! He could totally be a cheerleader for our soccer team! I gotta go ask him that later.

 **~End Confessional~**

More than half of the Black Knights had crossed the river. Caleb was halfway across and Caitlyn was right behind him.

"Can you hurry up?" Caitlyn urged the boy.

"Don't rush me. I might fall." Caleb said as he carefully went on to the next rock.

"But you're taking forever." Caitlyn groaned as she went to the rock he was previously in.

"Antoine, Tom, get a move on!" Eliza slurred a bit as she saw the last two of their teammates still standing there on the other side.

"You go first." Antoine insisted. "The smartest people are always last."

"I don't wanna go first." Tom grumbled. "I wanna see that newbie host appear here and tell me to do that. And then I still won't obey." He huffed.

"What?" Antoine looked dumbfounded by that statement.

"You heard me." Tom grumbled again.

"Hey everyone! Tom doesn't wanna do the challenge!" Antoine called out to the rest of the team. By this time, both Caleb and Caitlyn made it across.

"Don't be ridiculous. Tom is determined to win, right?" Jamie looked at the chubby boy.

"I wanna see the newbie host come after me first." Tom said adamantly.

"We don't have time for that! Just get moving! You too, Antoine!" Silvia said in an angry tone. "You guys are going to cost us the challenge."

"Fine. I'll go first. Smart people always go first." Antoine said haughtily as he started going on the platform.

Silvia rolled her eyes at that remark. Caitlyn just sighed to herself. The moment Antoine got on the next platform, his foot slipped and fell off it.

"Ahh! Help me!" He screamed as most of his body was in the water, his hands barely holding on to the rocks. "Someone! Please!" He pleaded.

"How pathetic." Eliza commented before turning away.

"We should help him." Winona frowned. Caitlyn sighed to herself.

"I got it." The journalist said as she went back to go help Antoine.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Caitlyn:** Can we please just vote out these two people? Is that possible? I heard double elimination is a thing.

 **~End Confessional~**

Quincey was weaving through the forest, trying to reach the source of the shriek he heard earlier.

"Perhaps it was not a good idea to stray too far from the others." The man thought aloud. "I wonder where that sound came from." He stopped as he found two paths before him. Both looked clear and lead to a place where they is sunshine. "And the guessing game commences." He said to himself.

The other members of the White Stallions were still waiting for Quincey, some of them getting a bit anxious already.

"What if the government got him!?" Keith panicked, pacing around the edge of the forest clearing.

"Relax, he probably just strayed too far." Abby told him.

"Plus he looks physically capable. I'm sure he's fine." Gabriella added with a shrug.

"But maybe Keith is right, you know." Nymeria thought aloud.

"Not you too." Alysson sighed.

"Maybe I should go search for him." Jackie suggested as he began walking back towards the forest.

"I don't think so." Jeanette shook her head. "If he comes back and you aren't here, then we'll have to wait for you too. Like Gabriella said, he's physically adept. He'll be fine." She stated confidently.

"If he didn't go alone, he wouldn't have taken this long to get here." Abby sighed.

"Daniel went alone and he was here before us." Nymeria pointed out.

"Because the government helped him!" Keith insisted.

"Or maybe it's because his crow was there to guide him." Jeanette pointed out to him. Keith just glared at her then grumbled to himself while walking away from the group to inspect the cabin.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Keith:** They don't understand! The government probably made this reality tv show to see if the winners of the show could potentially be their elite lapdogs or something! And maybe Daniel is trained to especially compete in this show, like those Careers in the Hunger Games you know. *he wears his tin foil hat again* Wait, what if the government kidnapped Quincey and the Quincey that will come back is a robot!? *he wears another tin foil hat on top of the other one*

 **Quincey:** It might seem that I will make a rather bad impression on my team. No matter, winning this will mean that I will get another chance to prove myself to them.

 **~End Confessional~**

Over at the Black Knight's side, Caitlyn had already helped up Antoine and both of them are making their way back to where most of the others are.

"That costed us some time..." Gabriel grumbled.

"Shut up. I'm still far more superior than you." Antoine huffed as he went over to inspect the cabin. To his surprise, it had the women's sign on it. "Wait, why does this have the women's sign on it?"

"My bet is that only women can sleep here." Jamie deduced.

"So what...the guys sleep outside?" Gabriel sighed and glared at the sign. "How sexist..."

"Then what if the cabin the White Stallions are finding is the men's cabin?" Winona asked.

"Then I'm moving over there, no questions asked." Antoine declared.

"Are we even allowed to do that?" Kazuo wondered as he rocked his head back and forth.

"I can answer that question for you later." Blaineley suddenly appeared from the side. She went over to the team. "The challenge is over, losers. You lose...um, losers." She said.

"What do you mean?" Eliza asked while blinking in a tipsy way.

"The White Stallions win." Blaineley said simply as she showed them a small monitor. It showed the White Stallions gathered around the cabin with Valnoir there with them. "You know what that means, right? Elimination ceremony tonight." She laughed. The collective members of the Black Knights groaned, except for Tom who was still on the other side and now looking mesmerized.

"Blaineley? Is that you? I'm coming, Blaineley!" He exclaimed as he started to leap from platform to platform just to reach the other side.

"Wow, and that got him going?" Caitlyn sighed.

"Anyways, let me tell you what you have to do next before the elimination ceremony happens in two hours." Blaineley said, awkwardly ignoring the fan boy stare Tom has on his face.

"Is it to make a campfire and sing kumbaya?..." Gabriel rolled his eyes and looked away.

"Hardly." Blaineley responded dryly. "You're wondering why this cabin has the women's sign right? Well here's your answer: it's for women." She said plainly.

"Just as I thought." Jamie exclaimed proudly.

"But where will the guys sleep then?" Caleb inquired.

"And can you please sign my belly?" Tom inquired as well as he shown them his round belly. Everyone cringe at the sight and Blaineley's eye twitched.

"Okay I'll answer the second question first. The answer is no and if you don't cover that right away I'll eliminate you on the spot!" She glared at Tom. The chubby boy immediately pulled down and adjusted his shirt in fear.

"I'm sorry, oh so glorious Ms. O'Halloran!" He bowed deeply. "I won't anger you again! I promise!" He vowed.

"Whatever." Blaineley sighed. She then turned her attention to Caleb. "And to answer your question, you boys need to go further that way in order to reach the cabin the White Stallions found. That's for men." She pointed into the distance and they all saw where she was pointing. It was in the direction of the forest.

"It's a bit of a long walk I see." Kazuo remarked.

"Then you better get walking if you wanna rest early." Blaineley stated. "Just remember that we have an elimination tonight."

"But wait, since it's a long walk, that means the guys won't see the girls in order to discuss strategy in time." Kazuo realized. "What about potential alliances and all that?"

"That's a bold way to put it." Silvia blinked in surprise. "But he makes a good point."

"Don't tell me the alliances will be limited to boys only and girls only." Caitlyn frowned. Blaineley shook her head.

"Not really. You can still talk to each other even before elimination. Basically you're risking an extra mile and limited time to plan before your elimination ceremony. Not to mention someone might overhear you. It's a new thing we came up with." She said with a giggle.

"That's too bad. I wanted to get to know my team better too." Winona frowned. "I suppose that means we can't build a campfire and sing kumbaya after all." She gave a sympathetic look towards Gabriel, who looked at her awkwardly.

"Can I ask a question?" Eliza raised her hand. "What are we going to do about food?"

"Go hunt or something. I don't care." Blaineley shrugged as she began walking off. "We'll hold the elimination ceremony at the docks. Don't be late or I'll eliminate you right there and then." She threatened.

"Well, that's our cue to go." Kazuo said as he began walking towards the forest area.

"I'll lead us there!" Antoine insisted as he overtook Kazuo and went ahead. "A genius like me knows the way through a forest at dusk." He bragged.

"That is interesting." Kazuo smiled. "But will it be enough?" he said the last part in a whisper.

"What? Did you say something?" Antoine glanced towards him. Kazuo shook his head and so the trivia master just shrugged and continued on walking. Unbeknownst to Kazuo, Gabriel was walking right behind him and heard what he said. The other boy narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Caleb and Tom trailed behind, the former looking for something while the latter bemoaned about how Blaineley didn't notice him much.

"I suppose that's that." Jamie said after the guys had left. "Wanna talk about the vote?" She turned to the girls.

"Not really." Silvia sighed. "I think I'll get a power nap." She went inside the cabin.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Kazuo:** Antoine can be a good candidate for this butterfly effect experiment I have going on. I just need to find out how to make it worthwhile. But first, the votes. I wonder how I should tonight. Against a weak link? Against a strong asset? Ah, the options are limitless!

 **Gabriel:** That Kazuo may be onto something...I just can't quite put my finger to it. He strikes me as a carefree and reckless person...yet he doesn't seem that much of a liability. The tone he used on Antoine actually got me thinking whether he has a personal plan for himself in terms of strategy...Does he?

 **~End Confessional~**

The scene changed to a few minutes in the past at the time when the White Stallions were declared the winners. They were gathered around Valnoir to wait for what he has to say. Quincey had joined them just after Antoine and Caitlyn crossed the river.

"White Stallions." Valnoir addressed them. "You have won the first team challenge. Not bad at all." He cackled.

"Is there a reward for it?" Jackie asked.

"Is there?" Valnoir repeated. "Did I mention any reward when I explained the challenge?"

"No, not really." The jester answered.

"Then you have your answer. You all don't have to face elimination. That's reward enough." Valnoir smirked.

"At least it's something." Jeanette sighed. "Let's all just accept it."

"Yeah and we can get to know each other better!" Nymeria exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, we never really did get to sit down and talk about one another." Abby realized. "How can we work as a team without knowing things about each other first?"

"Save the campfire gimmicks for later." Valnoir rolled his eyes. "It's time I explain what the cabin signs are for."

"I think we all know why these signs exist." Quincey interrupted.

"Yeah, it's so the government knows which experiments go on which cabin. Take this men's cabin, for example. I bet it's here to experiment on guys' small di-" Keith tried to say.

"These cabins cater to the sex indicated to the sign." Valnoir interjected before Keith finished his sentence. "In this case, it's the men's cabin so all girls here, get the hell out!" He cackled at the end as he pointed at the forest again, which is starting to get dark as sunset passed. "Your cabin is by the river where the Black Knights are."

"Wait, do we really have to go right now?" Beatrice frowned. "It looks scary out there."

"I got you so don't worry. I go night strolling all the time." Gabriella bragged. "Mountaintops, forests, even a desert once. We'll be fine."

"Can't the guys accompany us at least?" Abby raised her hand. Quincey stepped forward.

"I would like to accompany them. This is to make up for the hindrance I caused my team in the challenge." Quincey said. Valnoir shook his head with a malicious grin.

"Nope. None of you are accompanying them. Those who dare try it will be eliminated right on the spot." The host declared. The other boys didn't speak up after that. Quincey still looked a bit conflicted before Gabriella gave him and assuring smile.

"Like I said, I got this." She gave a thumbs up. "You go on ahead with your beauty sleep."

"I'm not sleeping with this spy!" Keith pointed a finger at Daniel, who simply ignored him and looked at the girls who were about to leave.

"You don't have a choice." Valnoir smirked.

"It was a good challenge, nice effort you guys!" Jackie exclaimed, using his cheery tone again. "Let's win again tomorrow!"

"Heck yeah!" Abby cheered. Jeanette saw that Alysson has yet to move and decided to grab his wrist.

"What are you still doing? We have to get to our cabin." Jeanette said as she began taking him away with them.

"What but I'm-" Alysson soon caught himself before he said anything else. "-just looking at the clearing one last time before we go. It is a nice place after all."

"But I have a feeling the cabin by the river will be nice too." Beatrice smiled as they began walking.

"Stay safe, girls!" Jackie waved to them. "See you tomorrow!"

"Are you guys sure you don't want to watch the elimination ceremony tonight? It might be dramatic." Valnoir encouraged with a sadistic grin.

"I think I'll pass." Keith yawned. "I'm beat. And I need to sleep with one eye open in case this spy decides to kidnap me." He glared at Daniel, who was already going inside the cabin. His crow decided to perch on the roof and sleep there.

After some time of walking, the girls of the White Stallions crossed paths with the boys of the Black Knights. They stopped walking and looked at each other.

"Hello girls. Good evening." Kazuo greeted with a smile.

"Good evening as well, good sir." Jeanette greeted back with a slight smile.

"Congrats on winning the challenge I guess..." Gabriel said as he scratched his head.

"Don't congratulate them! Taunt them!" Antoine urged. "Hey, girls! Enjoy your victory while it lasts because the Black Knights will steamroll over you in the next challenge!"

"Look, we're all tired so can we please just skip this?" Abby asked as she yawned.

"Yeah since it's a long walk ahead." Gabriella added.

"Good point." Tom nodded. "We still have to talk strategy."

"What strategy?" Antoine scoffed. "It's obvious we're voting for you." He accused.

"What? Why? Because I didn't win the challenge for us?" Tom rolled his eyes. "There were other factors too."

"But you were the most stubborn!" Antoine insisted.

"Maybe we should go." Beatrice suggested uncomfortably.

"Good idea." Nymeria said to her and they both went ahead. Jeanette saw them go and decided to follow.

"Nice team you guys got here." Gabriella smirked to Gabriel.

"Shut up..." Gabriel grunted before brushing past her. Caleb followed close behind while looking at some sort of old clockwork gear.

"I guess we'll see you tomorrow then, ladies." Kazuo winked at the remaining girls of the White Stallions before following his teammates.

"He's pretty cute." Gabriella commented. She looked at Alysson, whose eyes stared after Kazuo a he left. "Don't you think so?"

"Oh! Um, yeah he is." Alysson immediately said as he snapped back to reality.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Antoine:** Seriously, is Tom that stupid and inferior? He's the weak link in our team and he clearly has to go!

 **Tom:** Antoine is so toxic. The team will see that and vote him off tonight, I'm sure of it. The dude's too arrogant too.

 **Alysson:** There is something, well, unique about Kazuo. Maybe I should try my luck at seducing him. He didn't seem to realize that I'm a guy after all. *he giggles* This should be fun. Really fun.

 **Jeanette:** As I walked, I realized something important. Considering the distance between the two cabins, it will be very difficult for us to create alliances with the opposite sex. There might not even be enough time to plan the votes or who their potentials targets may be. I hope I'm wrong here.

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Elimination Ceremony)**

The Black Knights met up in the dock area where they had initially started from. A single small yacht lay parked beside it, and the two hosts stood before the docks with grins on their faces. The losing team sat at tree stumps that were laid out before them and a large campfire lit up the place as well as gave them warmth.

"Welcome Black Knights, to your first elimination ceremony." Valnoir greeted as he spread out his arms dramatically. "This is also the first elimination in the game, so the person going home tonight has the highest shame!" He cackled like a madman and in that moment, lightning crackled and thunder roared above.

"Something tells me those aren't special effects." Winona winced.

"They aren't. It was just a coincidence." Valnoir shrugged.

"Let's just get on with it already." Blaineley rolled her eyes. "I still have a massage to get to."

"Can I be the one to massage you, Blaineley?" Tom offered with a toothy grin and a giddy laugh.

"No." The co-host bluntly stated.

"Aw." Tom sighed dejectedly.

"I want to go sleep..." Gabriel grunted.

"Same here." Jamie yawned.

"Then let's not waste time anymore." Valnoir interjected. "There are pieces of paper on the stump where you are sitting on. Write the name of the person you want gone and give the papers to me." He explained. "You cannot show your paper to each other. If we catch you doing so then we'll eliminate the offenders on the spot. Afterwards, you can go to the confessional area to tell the audience about your votes."

Everyone did as they were told and began writing the name of who they're voting for on the paper they were given. THey all made sure nobody was looking at their votes as they did so. One by one, they gave it to Valnoir. He looked at each of the votes then handed it to Blaineley.

"This is how it's going to work." Blaineley got everyone's attention. "I'll read out the votes one by one. If you got the most votes then that means your team eliminated you. Got that?" Everyone nodded. "Then let's get this over with." She giggled. "First vote goes to Kazuo."

"Oh?" Kazuo tilted his head with a smile.

"Second vote goes to Tom."

"Really?" Tom glared at Antoine, who met it with his own.

"The third vote goes to Antoine."

"I won't go home today." Antoine said defiantly.

"Fourth vote...Caleb." Blaineley read.

"What?" Caleb reacted disinterestedly as he played with two cogs now.

"Fifth and sixth votes go to Tom." Tom looked nervous now. "Seventh and eighth votes go to Antoine." This time, Antoine looked nervous.

"This is gonna get good." Valnoir chuckled.

"Ninth and tenth votes go to..." Blaineley paused.

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.

"...Both Antoine and Tom!" She announced.

"What? A tie?..." Gabriel blinked.

"This is unexpected." Winona added.

"I suppose the votes weren't unanimous then." Caitlyn realized.

"I expected as much." Eliza remarked. "Nobody had time to plan the votes properly. It's only natural that the first day ends up like this." She slurred a bit.

"Well what should we do about it now?" Jamie frowned.

"That's easy." Valnoir grinned. "We have a tiebreaker."

"Do you even have a tiebreaker planned?" Blaineley raised her eyebrow at him.

"Nope." Valnoir shook his head. "I always believed that the first eliminations are always unanimous. This means that our concept for the cabins is working." He cackled as he took out an unusual coin from his pocket.

"Hey, is that a doubloon?" Caleb asked.

"It sure is." Valnoir smirked. "I found this lying around on the beach earlier."

"Cool." Caleb nodded in awe.

"Now, Antoine, call it." The host turned to the trivia guru.

"Tails!" Antoine exclaimed.

"Then that leaves Tom with head." Valnoir smirked and winked. Eliza laughed loudly, the girls except for Winona blushed madly, and the guys looked weirded out.

"Grow up." Blaineley rolled her eyes.

"I can't help it." Valnoir shrugged innocently. He flipped the coin and everyone waited in anticipation for which side it will show. The coin fell into Valnoir's palm and he showed it to everyone.

.

.

.

.

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.

.

"It's tails! Yes!" Antoine cheered.

"Aw come on!" Tom whined.

"Looks like Antoine won the tiebreaker." Blaineley said. "That means the first one eliminated off this island is Tom!"

"If you'll come this way." Valnoir motioned for Tom and the others to follow him as he made his way to the dock where the yacht was.

"We're gonna miss you, dude." Silvia said sadly as they walked.

"I'm not." Antoine laughed. "Good riddance."

"Although, the nervous look on your face was more priceless than Tom's." Caitlyn remarked as she showed a photo of it on her camera. "I wonder if I'll get more reviews if I post this on the media."

"Hey, give me that!" Antoine tried to grab her camera but she held him back and laughed.

"Quiet down!" Valnoir ordered as they made it to the yacht. "Tom, your team has voted you out and you are the first one eliminated in this season. Any last words?"

"Yeah." Tom said as he glared at the host. "Screw you! Blaineley should be the main host!" He demanded as he charged at Valnoir. The host just sighed as he dodged his attack and grabbed the other boy by the back of his collar.

"You may all leave now." Valnoir instructed. The rest of the team nodded and slowly headed back to their respective cabins just as Valnoir threw Tom unto the boat and the platform detached itself from the dock.

"I hope I become a returnee and overthrow you!" Tom threatened.

"We'll see." Valnoir chuckled as the yacht went away.

As the Black Knights were about to leave the elimination site, they heard an explosion in the distance. They turned back and saw that the yacht Tom was in was on fire and was sinking.

"What was that!?" Winona gasped.

"The yacht exploded!" Jamie exclaimed in shock. Valnoir went up to them with a sadistic.

"You guys like the fireworks show?" He cackled.

"What the hell!? Did you kill Tom!?" Silvia demanded angrily.

"Relax, he's in safe hands." Valnoir assured while still grinning.

"That's still blurry." Kazuo said skeptically.

"Just go to bed already." Valnoir deadpanned. "I'll say it again. He's in safe hands. And don't ever confront me about it again if you don't want to blow up too."

The team reluctantly turned their backs and walked away, murmuring to themselves. All save for Caitlyn, Jamie, and Kazuo, who seem to be deep in thought.

* * *

Valnoir and Blaineley stood at the docks with the burning yacht over at the distance acting as their background. They didn't seem bothered by it and were grinning.

"And our first elimination went down with a blast!" Valnoir cackled.

"This is sure to get the authorities' attentions." Blaineley smirked at him.

"Then it's a good thing this island isn't owned by any country." Valnoir smirked back.

"Anyway, with the first elimination all said and done, will the Black Knights make a comeback?" Blaineley asked.

"Will Keith find out if Daniel is really a government spy?" Valnoir rolled his eyes as he asked.

"Can Alysson successfully seduce a guy and keep his secret hidden from the girls?" Blaineley added.

"Find out next time on Total..." Valnoir started.

"Drama..." Blaineley chimed in.

"Forgotten Island!" They both finished.

* * *

 **~Votes~**

 **Gabriel:** Gonna vote for Antoine tonight...He won't stop bothering me during the challenge and it's getting on my nerves...Please make this work.

 **Kazuo:** My vote goes to Tom. He cost us the challenge and based on my observations about him, he doesn't look like the physical type unless Blaineley comes into view, which is chancy.

 **Winona:** I vote for Tom. Caitlyn and Jamie said to vote for Antoine but I think I can change him for the better. I do like giving support to others so I think I'll give him a chance over Tom.

 **Silvia:** I've been thinking about who I should vote for and I decided to vote for Caleb. He's the one who really doesn't focus much on the challenge. Sometimes I wonder if he even cares at all. There's no room for attitude like that on this team.

 **Caleb:** Okay so I'm going to vote for Kazuo. I actually had to decide between him and Eliza and voting for him is better because he's so weird. Voting for someone strong on our team? Voting for someone you like? What kind of personality is that?

 **Antoine:** Tom should realize how weak and inferior he really is. Therefore, I vote for him and he better go home!

 **Tom:** I can't stand Antoine. The dude is just so unbearable with his superiority complex. I just hope the others see this too and vote for him.

 **Caitlyn:** I'm going to vote for Antoine. I hate his guts and he's so distracting, in a negative way.

 **Jamie:** Antoine is so arrogant and full of himself it's getting annoying. I'm voting for him. Too bad I couldn't properly convince Winona and Silvia to do the same, but maybe they voted for him too. *she shrugs*

 **Eliza:** I flipped a coin to see who I should vote for. Choosing between Antoine and Tom is such a hassle on my mind so I flipped a coin to save me the trouble. The coin has spoken, and Tom needs to go.

 **~Eliminated~**

 **20th place: Tom - The Host's Pet**

* * *

 _ **Tom didn't strike me as an interesting character to write as I planned out how this story will go. He seemed a bit plain for my tastes and didn't have much to offer to the table. Look at it this way, in a team full of people whose dots connect, he basically has a lot of broken lines. I decided that last place is where I will put him, and I hope nobody misses him. But hey, I can tell you for certain that he's a better person than Richard from my other story. I think...I don't know anymore. See you all next time! XBloodLegendX**_


	3. 2: Paint the Town in Black and White

The camera panned to reveal the Forgotten Island in aerial view at the break of dawn, before panning down to the docks where Valnoir and Blaineley were standing. Smiling at the camera, they prepared to make their introductions.

"Welcome back to another episode of Total Drama Forgotten Island!" Valnoir started with an almost malicious grin. "I can't wait to get started." He cackled.

"Don't get too excited now." Blaineley told him as she chimed in. "Because we need to give them a recap of what happened last episode."

"That's right." Valnoir nodded. "Yesterday marked the start of the season, and the start of the red carpet for the campers."

"There's people like Alysson, Jeanette, and Winona, who play with a clear cut strategy in mind." Blaineley said.

"People like Kazuo, Nymeria, and Daniel, or those with a hidden potential sleeping within." Valnoir smirked.

"And sadly there are those like Antoine, Keith, and Eliza, who probably needs to get their heads checked." Blaineley sighed.

"Elizabetha isn't that bad." Valnoir pointed out.

"She didn't leave a lasting good impression on me." Blaineley said dismissively.

"What are you talking about?" Valnoir smirked and rolled his eyes. "Nothing leaves a lasting good impression on you."

"Shut up." The co-host grumbled. "Anyways, the two teams went on a race to see which of them can get to the cabin first."

"The White Stallions traversed the forest, splitting up the team in order to cover more ground." Valnoir recalled. "Jeanette felt a bit conflicted by that though, considering it was Abby who took charge and with Daniel and Quincey going individually."

"Meanwhile, the Black Knights stayed together and went along the riverbank to reach their cabin." Blaineley said. "It was Caitlyn and Jamie who lead them forward, and Kazuo and Eliza bringing up the rear in their tipsy states."

"It's still funny when I think about it." Valnoir cackled.

"Well it wasn't funny for Caleb who didn't like their attitude." Blaineley pointed out.

"Then you should see Alysson get fed up easily with all of Keith's government paranoia." Valnoir laughed more. "And to think he was the one trying to flirt."

"You know that's the funny thing around here. Alysson is a guy and it looks like nobody has caught on yet." Blaineley realized.

"And that's why I accepted his application." Valnoir smirked proudly. "We'll see what he can bring to the table."

"Speaking of that, Jackie helped his team greatly with his shrieking skills." Blaineley stated.

"Aggressively competitive and with the talent to prove it? Looks like the jester is starting to become the fool." Valnoir said.

"I don't get it so whatever." Blaineley shrugged. "And while we're at it, didn't Kazuo show some promise when he easily crossed the rock platforms in the river?"

"Yeah he did, until he intentionally delayed their progress further by jumping off to get swept away by the current." Valnoir pointed out.

"Then it's a good thing Jamie and Eliza have fast reflexes. Too bad their team doesn't share their strengths." Blaineley sighed.

"Yes since it was due to both Antoine and Tom that their time was further delayed and ended up causing the Black Knights' first loss, also the first loss of the season." Valnoir chimed in.

"And after revealing why the cabins were so far away from each other and also gender specific, things got more interesting." Blaineley started.

"Because they didn't have enough time to properly plan their votes with each other, the Black Knights voted with less strategic intent." Valnoir grinned.

"In the end, an unexpected tie breaker happened." Blaineley said. "But with a flip of a coin, it was Tom who became the season's first boot!"

"You could say we celebrated the occasion with a blast!" Valnoir exclaimed.

"Seriously?" Blaineley deadpanned. "Anyways, will the Black Knights be able to recover from this loss?"

"Will Jeanette successfully rise up as the leader of the White Stallions?" Valnoir said afterwards.

"What other gimmicks does Kazuo have planned?" Eliza said.

"And can Alysson stay under the radar regarding his strategy and his gender?" Valnoir said.

"Find out right here on Total.." Blaineley started.

"Drama..." Valnoir chimed in.

"Forgotten Island!" They both finished.

* * *

 **(Boys Cabin)**

Antoine woke up to the sound of a loud crash. The trivia guru groaned as he rubbed his eyes. He wore white pajamas that had a couple of star prints. Sitting up from his bed, he saw Keith crouching down while peeking above his bed towards Daniel, who was staring at his crow that had entered the cabin.

"He's talking to his government superiors." Keith whispered to Antoine. Keith was wearing nothing but plain pajama pants with no shirt on, and Daniel wore no shirt and just light gray pajama pants.

"What are you talking about, you dumb nut? There are no government agents in here." Antoine rolled his eyes as he stood up.

"You don't know that!" Keith insisted.

Daniel just glanced their way and shook his head before heading out with his crow perched on his shoulder. Keith took a defensive karate stance as he passed by him. The other boys woke up because of the commotion.

"Why the sudden noise?" Quincey woke up and stretched for a bit. He wears a plaid white shirt and black shorts.

"All I heard was Antoine's rage." Kazuo chuckled. He was shirtless but wore red shorts.

"Shut up." Antoine snapped.

"What's with all the anger?" Jackie laughed. "You all should loosen up!" He did a short dance and flip as he got out of bed. He wore a similar jester outfit made of lighter cloth as his pajamas.

Caleb quietly got out of bed and silently shuffled out of the room wearing his long dark red jogging pants and blue tank top. Meanwhile, Gabriel was still in bed pretending to be asleep while furrowing his brow in irritation. He wore his white shirt and blue shorts and it could be seen that he still had his golden bracelet on.

"Wake up sleepyhead!" Jackie skipped over to Gabriel and shook him hard back and forth.

"Stop that..." Gabriel seethed.

"But the sun is out!" Jackie exclaimed.

"He does have a point." Kazuo grinned. "We should go exercise."

"Exercise is for the weak brained." Antoine scoffed. "So go join them, Gabriel." He smirked arrogantly.

"Yeah right...I need more rest..." Gabriel grunted.

"If you need me, I'll be tailing Daniel." Keith said to the other boys as he went out of the cabin.

"I'll exercise by myself." Quincey said dismissively and left as well.

"Should I go mess with the girls?" Kazuo thought to himself. "Why not?" He shrugged and left.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Gabriel:** These rowdy people...have to share a cabin with me?... How troublesome...And to think that it's impossible to eliminate that jester and that noisy conspiracy guy...

 **Jackie:** It's important to have a smile on your face every morning. That helps in keeping a positive outlook and prevents stress from getting to you and wearing you down. Sure some of these people are not from my team, but this is for their overall health! *he laughs*

 **Quincey:** None of them are prepared to know my training regimen every morning. The kind of training I do ensures I'm always at my top form and ready to protect Lord Wesley at all costs. Granted, my lord isn't here, but this will still suffice in carrying my team in physical challenges.

 **Kazuo:** I did notice that there were only eight guys sleeping in the cabin last night. Does that mean there are eleven girls in their cabin? Do they want the extra bed that we have or do they have enough?

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Girl's Cabin)**

Beatrice was the first to wake up out of all the girls. She slowly sat up and glanced around at her sleeping cabin mates. She wore a shirt and pajama bottoms as her sleep wear.

"I think Winona and Alysson will wake up right about...now." She said softly. As if on cue, both Winona and Alysson woke up at the same time.

"Good morning." Alysson yawned and stretched. He wore a white long sleeved buttoned up shirt and light blue short shorts.

"Likewise." Winona greeted as she rubbed her eyes. She wears a lacy short nightgown and white underwear. It is also noticeable that the two were sleeping in the same bed. Silvia woke up afterwards.

"I still can't believe the hosts forgot to put in another bed for you, Alysson." The cosplayer said. She is wearing Star Wars theme pajamas.

"It's alright. I don't mind as long as it's alright with Winona." Alysson said sheepishly. Winona giggled.

"It's fine with me. We both got slim bodies so we fit right in." The fashionista said.

"Yeah that's true." Alysson responded.

"I see you are awake." Jeanette remarked as she stood up from her bed. She wore a short scarlet colored nightgown. "That is good. We need to start hunting for food soon."

"Nice nightgown, by the way." Winona complimented. "Red is the color of the month."

"I know, darling." Jeanette said with a slight wave of her hand. "I AM a fashionista as well. My mother does own a well known fashion line."

"Really!?" Winona's eyes widened. "That's so cool!"

"Hey, indoor voices please." Abby groaned as she woke up due to the noise. Gabriella and Caitlyn awoke too. Abby wore a light green tanktop and black shorts.

"I should go take morning pictures." Caitlyn yawned as she fished for her camera to take a few shots of the cabin room and the scenery outside their window. The journalist wore a pink long sleeved blouse and white pajama pants.

"Good morning!" Nymeria called out as she woke up. She only wore an oversized plain t-shirt as her sleeping clothes.

"Who else is asleep?" Jeanette asked no one in particular while looking around. She then noticed only Eliza and Jamie still fast asleep.

"I think Eliza is trying to get the alcohol off with sleep." Silvia sighed. She saw that Eliza is wearing a long white button up shirt that reaches down her thighs.

"She was drunk yesterday?" Gabriella asked. She was wearing a blue shirt and white shorts, with her golden bracelet still on her arm.

"Yeah, it's not the best experience." The cosplayer sighed.

"Now I wonder why Jamie is still asleep." Caitlyn wondered as she peeked over at Jamie in her bed. The police officer is wearing a white tanktop with black shorts.

"Maybe the challenge yesterday did a number on her. She was in the lead." Winona frowned a bit.

"I was in the lead too." Caitlyn pointed out. "But I see your point."

"Anyways, I'm outta here!" Gabriella exclaimed as she got up and out of bed. "I wanna do something!"

"Let us hunt for food then." Jeanette suggested.

"That's a good idea." Beatrice agreed.

"I'm not good at that stuff but I'll help out." Abby shrugged. "We're hunting by the river, right?" Jeanette nodded and the small group headed out the cabin and left the other girls, and Alysson, inside.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Alysson:** Day two and no one suspects anything. I even got to sleep in the girls' cabin! Now I really hope that a girl gets eliminated tonight so that I can have their bed. Not saying Winona is hard to sleep with, more like I want to have the right to a separate bed.

 **Jeanette:** It is a fortunate coincidence that the girls who went with me are those from my team. I can talk to them about the possibility of an alliance between us. Beatrice may be physically weak, but I have yet to determine whether she is an asset or a liability.

 **Caitlyn:** I'm kind of suspicious that the ones going to fish are from the White Stallions. Maybe I can eavesdrop on their conversation and maybe get a scoop out of it. But maybe I should just lay low for now so I don't make unnecessary risks so early in the game.

 **Jamie:** *yawns* Did I oversleep? I think I did, didn't I? Sorry, it's just rare for me to get a good night's sleep these days since I got to carry on my brother's duties ever since he went to that other Total Drama season. But don't worry because Officer Jamie Blackburn is here to help!

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

Jackie, Kazuo, and Quincey were out collecting berries for the boys' breakfast. The jester was skipping around and picking out berries at a much faster rate than the other two.

"Are you sure you know what you're choosing?" Quincey asked.

"Sure I do!" Jackie exclaimed.

"But wouldn't it be more interesting if we purposely picked a poisonous one and one of us eats it?" Kazuo suggested with a carefree grin. "It will be like a delicious Russian roulette."

"Let's not do that." Quincey sighed. "Last thing we need is a penalty."

"I wonder what the penalty is, though." Kazuo wondered.

"Hey look, I found more berries here!" Jackie said as he pointed at a nearby berry bush. Quincey helped him pick them out, and none of them realized that Kazuo added two poisonous berries in the basket.

"Should this be enough?" Quincey asked Jackie as they added their find to the growing pile.

"Yep!" Jackie exclaimed.

"Good. I'll take my share." Quincey said as he took a handful of berries. "I still need to exercise before the challenge later."

"And I wanna see what the girls are up to." Kazuo stated as he took his share too. "See you around!" They all went their separate ways. They didn't know that Daniel was standing nearby them behind a tall tree.

"Aha! Found you!" Keith exclaimed as he pointed an accusatory finger at Daniel. "Eavesdropping on the boys, are you? What's the government's plan with them!?" He demanded.

Daniel just blinked at him with a weirded out face. His crow made a sound once before flying high into the air.

"I won't let you report to them!" Keith grabbed a small rock and threw it towards the bird, whizzing past its neck feathers as the crow tried to dodge to the side. Daniel's eyes widened at this. He then glared at Keith and tackled him to the ground. "Hey!" The two fought on the ground before Quincey saw them.

"Cease this at once!" Quincey broke up the fight. Keith glared at Daniel one last time before turning to leave.

"I'll get you next time. We may be on the same team, but you're not my ally." Keith said spitefully to Daniel before leaving.

"Sorry about that good sir. I promise he'll be dealt with accordingly." Quincey apologized to Daniel. The other boy just shrugged and shook his head before leaving as well, his crow descending to perch on his shoulder again. "What an interesting young man." Quincey remarked quietly.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Quincey:** Daniel didn't bother to speak during the whole ordeal. Is he just that reserved? Or perhaps he is mute. Either way, he is worth observing. Oh, and his crow as well.

 **Keith:** I know Daniel's a government spy! The signs are all there. Quiet, reserved, surrounded by unusual things like that pet crow of his. He's definitely up to something, and I'll be the one to expose him for what he is.

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

Beatrice, Jeanette, Abby, and Gabriella all went outside by the riverbank to see what kind of fishes were in the river.

"There are some small ones over here." Gabriella remarked as she peered in the water.

"A couple of medium ones here." Jeanette called out.

"So many fishes are we going to catch?" Beatrice asked them. Abby was already trying to make spears out of rocks and wood for them to use.

"Can anyone give me a hand with tying this up?" Abby asked them as she held up a sturdy branch and a jagged rock.

"Sure thing." Gabriella grinned and went over to help. "That's what friends are for!"

"We are also on the same team." Jeanette pointed out. "Of course it is natural for us to assist one another."

"I agree. This is a great opportunity for us to learn more about each other." Abby nodded.

"Do you mean our skills?" Beatrice tilted her head slowly.

"That's correct." Jeanette affirmed. "It is vital that we know each other's strengths and weaknesses so that I may create perfect plans for us in challenges."

"Perfect plans, huh?" Abby repeated as she finished the first spear.

"I am a challenge strategist, so to speak." Jeanette explained. "I create effective plans for us in order to attain victory in challenges and avoid elimination. In order to do that, I only need to know what you are all capable of so that I may plan accordingly."

"Well I'm a soccer team manager so I'm pretty good at motivating the team and multitasking when it's necessary." Abby shrugged.

"I love the outdoors! Count me in when it's a physical challenge and involves doing it outside. Running, sports, you name it." Gabriella beamed proudly.

"And how about you, Beatrice?" Jeanette turned towards Beatrice.

"My talent is a bit...unusual." Beatrice admitted softly.

"Unusual?" Gabriella blinked, but clearly interested.

"I have foresight. Though right now I have yet to unlock its full potential." Beatrice told them.

"Foresight?" Jeanette blinked this time, clearly confused. "Is that even real?"

"I can prove it in the next challenge. But like I said, it isn't fully developed." Beatrice explained. "I may say vague things."

"To see is to believe, as they say." Abby shrugged.

"It is indeed intriguing." Jeanette thought aloud.

"As long as she can be of help to us, whatever works." Gabriella agreed with a cheeky smile.

"Whatever works for what?" A voice came from behind them. They turned and saw Kazuo approaching them.

"Are you Kazuo?" Jeanette asked him.

"Yeah, but you can call me yours." Kazuo winked. Jeanette just huffed and turned away, making her parasol face him.

"How did you get here so fast?" Gabriella asked.

"I found a shortcut from the forest that I can use to get quicker." Kazuo said.

"As expected of you." Beatrice nodded.

"You foresaw that?" Abby asked her as she finished with the last spear.

"That is correct. I knew that Kazuo would be visiting us, I simply didn't know how." Beatrice explained. "That is what I mean when I say my foresight is vague."

"Foresight? That's boring." Kazuo pouted. "The butterfly effect brings about random and fun effects. Who needs foresight when you can roll the dice and shoot away?"

"But I can foresee even consequences." Beatrice told him a bit softly.

"I'm calling your bluff." Kazuo laughed. "Maybe we'll see in the next challenge."

"So why exactly are you here?" Jeanette turned to face him again but with a raised eyebrow this time.

"I came to visit you girls." Kazuo winked again. This caused Jeanette to roll her eyes. "And visit Eliza."

"But she's still asleep." Gabriella said to him.

"She will wake up in five minutes." Beatrice said to Kazuo. "I am certain of that."

"That foresight of yours again?" Kazuo frowned. "Fine, I'll go to the cabin and watch for the time." He went off to the girls' cabin without another word.

"Hey wait! Some girls may be changing!" Abby protested.

"Nobody is changing." Beatrice shook her head.

"Oh." Abby turned towards Beatrice and stared at her for a couple of seconds. "Okay then."

 **~Confessional~**

 **Beatrice:** Because my foresight is not fully developed, I may or may not be useful to the team. That part is still vague to me. Other vague parts include eliminations and challenges for the day. At least I can tell you that Abby and Gabriella will make a confession after mine respectively. What is vague is what they will talk about.

 **Abby:** If Beatrice's foresight is true, then that could really be helpful for our team. I'll also try to work with Jeanette when it comes to making team plays. As a team manager, it's my job too.

 **Gabriella:** I don't fully believe in that foresight thing Beatrice says she has. She obviously looks like an indoors person so she's probably making that up so she can be useful in outdoor challenges. I'll keep a close eye on her just in case, but I'm calling it right now that she's a phony.

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

Over at the boys' cabin, Gabriel just finished wearing his usual clothes while Antoine was sitting on his bed reading a comic book.

"I had pegged you for the type...to read encyclopedias...not comic books." Gabriel rolled his eyes as he adjusted his bracelet on his arm.

"Shut up." Antoine glared. "I'm just, um, reading this so I can judge the nerds who read this."

"Sure..." Gabriel said, clearly unconvinced. Caleb entered the room in a hurry and flopped down on the bed. He took out a few metal parts from his pockets and began working on something in the bed.

"What is he doing?" Antoine glanced at Caleb.

"No idea...don't care..." Gabriel sighed.

"Hey you! What are you doing over there!?" Antoine called out rudely to Caleb.

"I'm busy." Caleb said dismissively as he kept working and tinkering on something.

"A sad and dumb man like you can't just ignore me like that." Antoine huffed.

"Guess he wised up by doing so..." Gabriel snickered.

"Shut up!" Antoine turned his glare towards Gabriel, who returned the intense stare. Antoine gulped for a bit but caught himself and just flipped through the pages of his comic book angrily. "You people are just jealous of my intelligence." He grunted.

"Sure we are..." Gabriel rolled his eyes again and took out a scrambled Rubik's cube from his bag and began trying to finish matching all the colors. Antoine took a glance at his progress and saw how fast his hands were moving, getting closer and closer to completing the whole thing. He then glanced at Caleb and saw him complete a mini catapult. The latter tested it out by launching a small pebble and it sailed through the air in a perfect arc and landed in the trash bin.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Antoine:** Okay so these two are clearly talented and smart. I gotta keep up the pressure so they don't know I'm being fake. I gotta act superior to them! And yet, I think Gabriel is onto me. Or nah, I think I'm giving him too much credit. I just need to establish that they're both dumbasses so the team will vote them off and keep me around.

 **Gabriel:** Antoine...doesn't scare me. I can see right through him...and I know he isn't all he makes himself out to be...But I can use that to my advantage...I just need to bide my time a little bit.

 **Caleb:** *show the mini catapult made of scrap metal and wood and cogs to the camera* Maybe I can use this thing in the next challenge. Hopefully it involves flinging things around so this can be useful. That Antoine is getting on my nerves, especially since I'm not doing anything to him. Good thing I just ignored him and kept working.

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

Eliza yawned and woke up, sitting up and looking around groggily. She saw all the girls inside save for Jeanette, Gabriella, Abby, and Beatrice.

"Oh, you're awake." Jamie noticed as she put on her shoes. "It's almost time for breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Eliza repeated with a yawn. "What's the food?"

"I heard it's gonna be fish!" Nymeria exclaimed.

"From the river? I wonder what that will taste like." Alysson wondered.

"I'm not choosy." Winona shrugged. "We should definitely be grateful to even have a source of food." She smiled.

"Good point." Alysson admitted.

"What's your favorite fish, Silvia?" Jamie asked the cosplayer.

"I personally like sardines but I definitely like any kind of fried fish." Silvia answered.

"I eat any fish that isn't poisonous." Eliza smirked.

"Fair point." Jamie giggled.

"Hey, let's all have a group picture." Caitlyn suggested as she waved her camera. "You know, for the memories."

"But what about the girls outside?" Alysson asked.

"We can always take more." The journalist said.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Nymeria said excitedly.

Caitlyn got her tripod from her belongings and propped it up in a space in the room then prepared her camera before joining the other girls in the other side.

"I like the morning looks we have going on." Winona giggled. "I heard it's a trend in some fashion magazines."

"I don't really mind the trends." Silvia shrugged.

"But it makes for good publicity when I put this one on the papers." Caitlyn grinned as she activated the timer on the camera. "Now smile, girls!"

"Cheese!" Nymeria smiled. They all posed a little as the flash went off.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Eliza:** From where I'm from and what I do, I don't get a lot of beauty sleep or even sleep like a princess so you'll forgive me for sleeping longer than normal. I used to have that kind of life, but not anymore. Maybe winning the million will help me get back to that sort of life!

 **Winona:** These girls all look so friendly! I kinda expected the other team to gloat since they won and all but I'm glad they're being good sports. I hope we can all get along great!

 **Nymeria:** So...are we gonna gloat about our victory or nah?

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

After a long walk, the campers all met up at the docks where Valnoir and Blaineley were waiting for them. Beside the hosts were racks of paintball guns and a table with paintball magazines and pouches.

"Welcome, campers!" Valnoir greeted them. "How's breakfast?"

"My stomach feels funny." Keith said with a groan.

"Same here." Quincey added. "But otherwise it was adequate."

"The fish was great." Silvia said with a smile. "Gabriella cooked it well." She smiled at the girl.

"No problem! It's always great to start off the morning with nice food." Gabriella grinned. "Plus Abby was so great at spearing fish."

"That's only because Jeanette knew which areas to spear fish in. She's pretty observant." Abby complimented. Jeanette spun her parasol a bit.

"Yes, darling. That is true." Jeanette smiled.

"Interesting." Silvia nodded before looking away.

"Those girls are working together nicely...I wonder how I can exploit that.." Gabriel muttered to himself.

"Well I hope that teamwork will serve you well because it's time for the next challenge." Blaineley announced.

"We're going to have a paintball challenge." Valnoir grinned. "Seems easy enough, right?"

"No catch?" Antoine asked skeptically.

"No catch." Valnoir assured. "Although, the White Stallions will have to sit out one member to be fair." He looked towards the White Stallion team.

"I'll sit out." Beatrice raised her hand.

"Aw, too bad you gotta be in the bench." Jackie pouted. "But we'll win this challenge no worries!"

"I sure hope so." Beatrice gave a small smile.

"Well that was an easy decision." Valnoir chuckled.

"Now to explain the challenge." Blaineley stepped forward. "Each team will be given some time to create a battle plan in order to defeat the other team. The White Stallions will go back to the forest and the Black Knights will go to the riverside. After some time has passed, we will sound the horn to signal that the challenge has started."

"Once you hear that, you may now go and shoot the members of the other team. If those in the White Stallions get hit on the body by the black paint, they're eliminated. Same goes if the Black Knights get splattered with white paint. The winning team is decided if only their members stand. Beatrice will remain here with us since she sat out of the challenge." Valnoir explained.

"Any questions?" Blaineley asked.

"We can do anything as long as the other team's members get hit by paint right?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah, so you guys can be creative if you want." Valnoir said.

"That's good to know." Kazuo smiled. Eliza saw this and grinned as well.

"I wonder what he has planned now." Eliza wondered to herself.

"No more questions?" Blaineley asked. No one said anything. "Good. Now go!" She ordered. The teams grabbed their weapons and ammo then split off towards their designated spots.

* * *

 **(White Stallions)**

The team gathered around the boys' cabin to discuss their battle plan for the challenge.

"Gather around, everyone." Jeanette said to her team. "I already have the perfect plan for us."

"Really? Let's hear it." Abby said.

"I noticed that Quincey and Keith aren't feeling so well. Therefore, they will remain behind the rest of us." Jeanette started.

"But I am an excellent shooter. You need me in the front lines." Quincey protested.

"Same here. I gotta know which ones on the enemy team are government spies." Keith insisted.

"Come on, listen to her plan." Abby said to them both.

"Yeah! We gotta work together in order to win." Nymeria added. Daniel nodded in agreement.

"With Beatrice sitting out, we won't be held back." Jackie stated. "However, Jeanette's plan will further help us. I'll listen to what she has to say if it means winning at any cost."

"Well said, Jackie." Jeanette smiled at the jester. "Now the rest of us will go to the front lines and meet the enemy head on. All except for Gabriella."

"Why?" Gabriella blinked.

"You, Quincey, and Keith will stay here and use the forest as our last stand." Jeanette stated. "Is that acceptable?"

"Fine." Keith grunted.

"I can agree to that. I have memorized the layout of this place after all." Quincey added.

"We'll be fine?" Alysson asked Jeanette. The latter nodded.

"Of course. We still have Jackie, Nymeria, and Abby as our vanguards." Jeanette said confidently.

"Yeah!" Nymeria agreed. "Wait, what are vanguards?" Suddenly they heard the horn blare.

"That's our cue, let's go everyone!" Abby said and went along with the main group headed outwards.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Keith:** No way am I following what Jeanette just said. I just need to wait until they're out of sight before I move out. The other team has potential government spies too and it would be bad if the team fell victim to them. I can use my military skills to get the upper hand.

 **Jackie:** We're going to win this challenge just like the last one, no questions asked. No offense to Beatrice, but she isn't physically fit to join in. I am a bit surprised she volunteered for it, but it doesn't matter.

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Black Knights)**

Minutes before the horn blared, the team gathered around as well to discuss about the challenge.

"Who's good at shooting here?" Silvia asked.

"Me, of course. I'm a police officer." Jamie grinned and pointed to herself proudly. "I got both police training and my family's personal training regimen to back me up."

"I can shoot a handgun a bit." Caitlyn shrugged. She then carried her paintball gun. "But not so much on a gun like this."

"I have experience from when I practiced at the range." Kazuo raised his hand with a smile.

"Well I know how to use one. Don't ask how." Eliza smirked.

"Of course I can use one too!" Antoine insisted. "In fact, I'm a better shot than all of you."

"Really?" Silvia raised her eyebrow.

"I'll just hang around the back lines then." Caleb sighed. "Not much of a shooter."

"Same goes for me." Winona frowned. "I don't like violence."

"Wan just stay here and be the last line...of defense..." Gabriel offered. "It's a good tactic for those who prefer fighting here..."

"Then you guys can stay here and shoot off the rest." Caitlyn said.

"Wait, Antoine said he's a better shot than anyone else, right?" Kazuo asked with a grin.

"Well yeah of course!" Antoine smirked.

"He's bluffing." Jamie pouted. Kazuo turned towards the police officer.

"If he's truly so great, then we won't be needing you." He aimed his gun at Jamie and fired once, catching her chest in white paint.

"Hey!" Jamie looked shocked.

"Kazuo, what are you doing!?" Winoan gasped and covered her mouth.

"Are you throwing...the challenge?" Gabriel narrowed his eyes at him.

"Nothing of the sort." Kazuo said. "I just wanted to see if Antoine can live up to his word, and I wanna see the consequences of losing the aid of a police officer."

"Seriously?" Silvia groaned in annoyance.

"Seriously?" Eliza perked up in amusement.

"Dumbass." Antoine blinked before glaring at him.

"That's going to cost us the challenge." Silvia pointed out.

"Will it though?" Kazuo asked.

"This is going bad." Caleb sighed and shook his head. Before anyone could say anything else, the horn blared. "Oh great, now the challenge has started."

"If we lose, we're eliminating you." Caitlyn frowned and followed the others out of the riverbank.

"And I was looking forward to it too." Jamie pouted and sat the steps by the cabin.

"Maybe next time." Kazuo smirked and joined the others.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Kazuo:** Time to see what the butterfly effect has in store for me now that Jamie won't help us in the challenge. This is going to get interesting indeed. Not to mention I have to do my best so I won't get eliminated. *he grins*

 **Winona:** I wonder why Kazuo did that. Does he want us to lose? We just lost the last challenge so he should be helping us and not ruining our chances more.

 **Caleb:** Can we just eliminate Kazuo already? He's getting really annoying. But maybe we can still win if I try to be more creative here.

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

Valnoir stood by the docks along with Blaineley.

"Now that our teams have their battle plans, which one will claim victory?" Valnoir smirked.

"The Black Knights aren't looking so good now that Kazuo did something random and weird. Without Jamie, will they still snag the win?" Blaineley turned to her fellow host.

"Only time will tell." Valnoir chuckled. "Let's see how they're doing now."

Over at the White Stallions' side, the front line group has already made significant ground cover. Jeanette, Abby, and Nymeria stayed together and broke off from the others to try and flank the other team from the side. This left Daniel, Alysson, and Jackie headed straight to meet with the other team in the rocky plains ahead.

"Let's make sure we win again." Jackie said sternly to his teammates. Daniel looked hesitant but nodded, his crow making a sound before taking to the air.

"Will Jeanette and the others be able to corner them in time?" Alysson asked.

"They will. We have to do what we can." Jackie said.

"Oooh, I like a man in charge." Alysson flirted.

"No time for that. Focus on the challenge." Jackie glared intensely at Alysson, causing the trap to flinch a bit and looked down.

"Y-Yeah." Alysson answered.

Daniel pointed ahead of them to warm them of something. Jackie squinted his eyes and saw some members of the Black Knights also closing the distance.

Eliza, Kazuo, Silvia, Antoine, and Caitlyn came from the other side, their weapons ready to open fire.

"Hide behind those boulders." Caitlyn pointed at two large boulders and the team immediately went for cover.

"What's our plan?" Kazuo asked.

"Easy. You all become bait while I gun them down." Antoine smirked.

"That's not what we're gonna do." Silvia sighed. "We all go to opposite sides of our cover and do a pincer attack on them."

"I think I only saw three of them on the other side though." Kazuo pointed out. "What if the others are going to ambush us?"

"Then I'll cover our rear and save your sorry asses." Antoine offered with a wide grin. "Leave it all to me!"

"Let's just let Antoine do what he wants." Eliza smirked. "Give the guy some room to brag."

"What did you say!?" Antoine snapped.

"They're coming!" Caitlyn warned them. White paint splattered on the rock but didn't catch any of them on their bodies.

"Split up and run wild!" Eliza ordered. "We can catch them if we focus one separate targets."

"So even if they have an ambush planned, it'll be easy to escape?" Kazuo asked. Eliza nodded. "Good plan." He broke away from cover and sped away from the scene while opening fire, managing to catch Jackie by the shoulder.

"God dammit!" The jester cursed loudly with a glare. "We're gonna lose now!" He threw down his paintball gun angrily.

"Chill out." Alysson said to him. Daniel shook his head at Jackie to back up Alysson.

"Dammit just win the challenge!" Jackie ordered. Alysson fearfully aimed his gun at Kazuo, but the latter was nowhere to be seen. Daniel rounded the corner and found Silvia and Eliza trying to escape but the other members already gone.

"We got you now!" Abby exclaimed as she and Nymeria got the jump on Eliza and Silvia and blocked their escape.

"Oh yeah?" Silvia opened fire and almost hit Nymeria had she not rolled to the side to avoid it. "Go, Eliza!"

"Sorry." Eliza said before sprinting in the opposite direction while laying down cover fire for her escape. She managed to get out of the rocky field and into the cover of the trees but not before seeing Silvia get shot in the sides by Nymeria and Abby.

* * *

Abby and Alysson joined up after separating from the main group in order to give chase to Eliza.

"Where's Nymeria?" Alysson asked his teammate.

"She wanted to chase down Antoine and Caitlyn, said it'll be an easy chase." Abby shrugged. "She ran off before I could stop her. Where's Daniel?"

"With Jeanette trying to go after Kazuo. Jeanette said she'll need Daniel's tracking skills with her." The trap said.

"Fair enough I suppose." Abby nodded. "I trust Jeanette's battle plan."

"Really? You like her?" Alysson asked.

"More like value her being an asset to this team." Abby clarified. "As a person, well that's yet to be judged."

"I see." Alysson nodded.

"Why are you asking?" Abby wondered.

"No reason- Look out!" Alysson pushed her to the side just as Eliza came out of hiding and fired a burst shot at them. Abby fell to her side and therefore avoided the shots but Alysson wasn't so lucky, getting black paint all over his torso.

"What?" Abby looked shocked for a moment. She then picked up her gun and was about to fire on Eliza when the latter reacted faster and fired at her first.

"Gotcha." Eliza smirked. "Quick on the draw, that's me."

"You're good." Abby conceded.

"But the others can still win it for us." Alysson pouted.

"I'll make sure they won't, darling." Eliza said before running off.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Alysson:** So it doesn't look like Jeanette is hated by the others. This might make it difficult to get her eliminated, but for now I have to make sure we don't even go to elimination. Okay, so I'm out and I can't help out anymore but you get my point.

 **Abby:** Eliza is a good shooter, it appears. I hope the others can win this for us. I wonder how Jeanette is doing on her end.

 **~End Confessional~**

Kazuo dashed through the forest and tried to avoid his pursuers. He noticed a black crow flying high above him and he narrowed his eyes.

"Is that the pet crow from that one guy? Um, Daniel was it?" Kazuo tried to remember. "Should I try to shoot it down?" He aimed his gun upwards and shot at the black bird, but the crow swiftly dodged every shot.

Jeanette saw him by her side as she ran while aiming her gun at him. Daniel was on Kazuo's opposite side, also with his gun aimed down at him.

"We have you surrounded." Jeanette declared.

"So you do." Kazuo grinned.

"Might as well stop running." Jeanette insisted.

"Fine." He suddenly halted in his tracks then backflipped once before aiming his gun at Daniel, firing a few rounds just as Daniel fired his on the spot Kazuo was before he backflipped. Daniel got pelted with Kazuo's shots and he stopped and looked disappointed.

"What?" Jeanette gasped and stopped as well, firing at Kazuo just as he fired at her. Both paint balls hit but only Kazuo got hit on his body, due to Jeanette's parasol blocking his shot. "It would seem I have won this battle."

"Using your umbrella to shield you, that's impressive." Kazuo grinned. "Well played."

"You surprised me as well. I did not expect you to suddenly stop. It was a good fight." Jeanette smiled.

"That it was." Kazuo grinned and somersaulted out of the scene.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Jeanette:** I may come off as proud and stuck up, but I value good sportsmanship. I acknowledge Kazuo's skill and improvisation tactics, though he is quite hard to read if he was able to surprise me like that. No matter, time will grace me with learning more about him soon.

 **Kazuo:** That Jeanette is pretty good. I wonder if she's single. Just kidding, why would I try to date someone from the enemy team? Although, I want to see the consequences of that too.

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

Nymeria chased down Antoine and Caitlyn as the two were trying to retreat back to the riverbank.

"Here I come!" Nymeria giggled and fired at them. The two Black Knight members were able to take cover behind two separate boulders.

"Arrogant dumbass." Antoine cursed.

"Let's retaliate!" Caitlyn ordered as she peeked out from cover and opened fie as well, with Antoine following suit.

"Ahh!" Nymeria rolled to the side to avoid the shots and took cover behind a large oak tree in the plains.

Antoine reloaded and ran out of cover while letting out an awkward battle cry, charging towards the tree where Nymeria hid. Caitlyn looked on with shocked eyes at his sudden move.

"Wait!" The journalist tried to say.

"Don't underestimate me, brat!" Antoine exclaimed as he aimed his gun at the tree and sidestepped, only to see Nymeria grab his wrist and twist it behind him before firing at his hip with her paintball gun.

"Took the bait." Nymeria smirked victoriously. She then used him as a human shield and fired at Caitlyn, but the journalist was already back to running away while laying down covering fire to aid in her escape.

"See ya." Caitlyn grinned as she ran

"Hey don't leave me here!" Antoine protested. Nymeria just shoved him aside and went back to chasing down Caitlyn.

"I'm gonna get'cha!" Nymeria giggled as she reloaded.

Caitlyn neared the riverbank but didn't see the rest of her members waiting for her. She then stopped in her tracks when the ground in front of her started getting pelted with white paint. Nymeria closed the distance between them and tried to fire again but realized she ran out in the magazine.

"Aw man." Nymeria pouted. This gave Caitlyn the chance to aim her gun and fire, but she got splattered in the side of her head by white paint. She recoiled back then whipped her head around to she who got her. Keith stood there with his paintball gun drawn.

"Looks like I came at just the right time." Keith panted.

"Great shot." Nymeria praised with a grin.

"Really? My face?" Caitlyn sighed and tried to wipe off the paint off her cheek.

"I always aim for the headshot." Keith shrugged. "Now tell us where your government leaders are!" He demanded.

"Government leaders?" Caitlyn raised an eyebrow.

"Stand back, Caitlyn. I got this." Eliza's voice came from across them all. She walked towards them with her gun aimed at Keith.

"You should have taken the shot instead of announcing yourself." Caitlyn frowned.

"But that would be too boring." Eliza giggled. "Now go and clear the battlefield." Caitlyn just sighed and walked back to the cabin.

Nymeria finished reloading and said to Keith. "Hey Keith, do you think she's a government spy too?"

"I don't think so." Keith shook his head after taking one good look at Eliza.

"Oh?" Eliza raised her eyebrow. "I don't strike you as one?"

"Nope. You're more like a criminal wannabe who thinks she's the hotshot or something to that effect." Keith waved her off.

"What!?" Eliza's eye twitched and she gripped her paintball gun tighter.

"Ooohh, sick burn." Nymeria exclaimed and then giggled.

"How dare you!?" Eliza fired at them in a burst shot but they both dodged to the side.

"And definitely not the skills of a government spy." Keith shook his head solemnly as he dodged another burst shot from Eliza. He retaliated by firing his own bullets but the latter crouched to avoid them.

"Gotcha!" Nymeria fired at her but Eliza rolled backwards and fired her last shot, hitting Nymeria square in the stomach. "Ow! You got me." She pouted. She sadly gave them space and went back to the forest area.

"It's up to me now." Keith looked at his opponent intently. "Come on, wannabe."

"Shut it! I'll show you that you're nothing to me." Eliza glared as she reloaded. Keith took this chance to dash forward and shove the butt of the gun against her face. Eliza managed to step back to avoid the hit but Keith kept the pressure and pushed her back further using the gun's body. "Grr.." Eliza dropped her gun due to the shove and instead went to tackle him down.

"Whoa." Keith looked shocked as she wrestled for his gun while trying to overpower him. Keith moved to the side and went to push the butt of the gun against her cheek, but Eliza tripped his feet first and sent him falling backwards.

"It's over." Eliza crouched down to pick up her paintball gun and finish him off but Keith rolled to his side and jumped back up. Her shots didn't connect as it hit the ground where he once was.

"Predictable." Keith said as he took up a fighting stance. Eliza snarled a bit and aimed her gun at him and fired again, but he twirled to the side to avoid it again. He spun back and elbowed her face, but she reacted fast and blocked it with her palm. She fired a shot to his gut, but he used his free hand to grip the side of the barrel and shove it off target, letting the shot go wide. he then punched her in the stomach which made her recoil back in pain.

"Gah! Damn you!" Eliza snarled and tried to tackled him down again, but Keith did a roundhouse kick to knock her back, her rage making her unable to dodge it. The boy then picked up his paintball gun again and fired once, hitting her in the leg as she fell to the ground.

"And just like that, I win." Keith said in a slightly bored tone. "Now, back to government spy hunting." Wearing his tin foil hat, he ran off.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Eliza:** I can't believe Keith is that skilled. Maybe I really did underestimate him there. He looked like this usual paranoid guy who spends so much time panicking to actual train for combat. Those moves are almost like something they teach you at military school.

 **Keith:** My parents are tied to the military, so they taught me self defense and gun mastery in pistols, rifles, and shotguns to an extent. My melee may need a bit more work but at least it fended off a criminal wannabe.

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

Gabriella and Quincey met up at the edge of the forest area.

"Did Keith run off on his own?" Quincey sighed.

"Apparently so." Gabriella confirmed. "I couldn't find him anywhere around here."

"Then we should go as well." Quincey stated. "The other team won't expect us to go in full force."

"But that's not part of Jeanette's plan." Gabriella pointed out and frowned.

"I know, but tactics are dynamic." Quincey turned to face her. "If you cannot adapt to the situation, then it is as good as lost." He suddenly gripped his stomach and looked a bit pained. "Agh, my stomach hurts."

"Maybe you shouldn't go out there-" Gabriella started but Quincey held up his hand.

"I'll be alright. Let us off." He insisted. Gabriella only sighed before following him out of the forest and out into the plains.

They ran for a few minutes while being alert of anyone from the Black Knights. They moved quickly but Quincey lagged behind a bit due to his aching stomach. He tried his best to hide it from Gabriella as they went closer to the riverbank. There they saw Keith crouching down behind a large boulder while overlooking the cabin. Even he felt pained by his stomach now and is evidently cursing to himself for it.

"Damn it. Just hang in there." Keith muttered as his two teammates arrived.

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked.

"Nothing. Just my stomach." Keith grunted. "I saw one of those spies over by the cabin. He didn't seem to notice me though." He pointed in the distance where Gabriel was sitting on the porch with his gun at the ready. Gabriella gasped a bit but no one seemed to notice.

"I can't take him out from here. If memory serves, these paintball guns do not travel long distances accurately." Quincey said.

"Then let's get closer and take him out." Keith said as he stood up.

"But what if it's a trap?" Gabriella suggested.

"Then you both go and I flank him from the side." Keith said impatiently. "Hurry up so I can interrogate him about the government's secret plans for world domination." Both Quincey and Gabriella just shook their heads and sighed but did not complain.

They traversed to the other side of the river before Keith broke off from the group and went to the side to ambush Gabriel. Gabriel saw Quincey and Gabriella approach him.

"You wanna do this?..." Gabriel raised an eyebrow at Gabriella.

"It's the challenge." Gabriella said but shakily held her gun. She fired a shot but Gabriel leaped off from the steps and rolled to the side just as Quincey was aiming at him as well. He grunted as his stomach started hurting and missed his shot against Gabriel's head.

"Not bad..." Gabriel said before firing from his own paintball gun and shooting Gabriella which hit her in the thigh.

"Well I lost." Gabriella sighed in defeat.

"I'll finish him off." Quincey promised as he sidestepped gracefully to avoid Gabriel's next burst shot.

"Really?...Come at me then..." Gabriel taunted as he stepped forward while firing one bullet at the time. Quincey kept sidestepping and swaying to avoid them and fired his own burst shot, which Gabriel immediately hopped to the side to dodge. "You're pretty good.."

"You're not bad yourself." Quincey said but then gripped his stomach afterwards. "Gah!" Gabriel's eyes widened but instantly took this chance to fire his last shot in the magazine and splatter paint on Quincey's hand that was gripping his stomach.

"And I win this round..." Gabriel smirked.

"Yeah yeah. Whatever." Gabriella rolled her eyes then left while helping Quincey.

"I'm truly sorry about all this." Quincey said softly to her as they left.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Quincey:** Is this because of the berries I ate? Was some of it not edible? But the ones gathering the berries were Jackie, Kazuo, and myself. Wait a minute. Kazuo! He must have slipped in poisonous berries. He did ask about it earlier. But why would he do that when we're going to be doing challenges like this? I have to tell the others.

 **Gabriella:** Yeah Gabriel is my twin brother. Younger brother, that is. He's been interested in guns ever since we were kids. He would buy a lot of toy guns and play shooting games with the neighbors until he decided to play shooting games in his computer. Seriously, he needs to go out more. It's a big world and he's wasting it.

 **Gabriel:** My sister Gabriella...doesn't understand the value of being indoors...and staying in your safe zone. This challenge proved that home advantage is key...and that being on the defensive can still open up to better opportunities. Not only that...she hates lethal weaponry too. Granted...these guns aren't meant to kill but it's embedded in her mind...that guns are dangerous.

 **~End Confessional~**

Jeanette went around the riverbank to see if she can get the rest of the Black Knights in an ambush. She weaved through the trees with her parasol in front of her as a shield. She didn't see anyone in sight so she moved closer and closer to the cabin. She then saw movement out of the corner of her eye and immediately spun around to block an incoming black paint ball. Winona came out of hiding from the bushes while frowning.

"Aw, I was so close too." The fashionista said.

"You almost got me, I will admit that." Jeanette smiled before aiming her paintball gun at her. "But this is where I say goodbye."

"Wait!" Winona pleaded. "Can you just shoot my hand? I don't want paint on my dress and shoes."

"Alright, I'll respect your request." Jeanette said. "I do understand your situation after all." She aimed carefully then fired on the other girl's outstretched hand. Winona closed her eyes in fear as the shot was fired then slowly opened them to see that her clothes were unharmed.

"Thank you so much!" Winona exclaimed.

"Do not mention it, darling. Like I said, I am a fashionista too. We have to look out for each other desptie being on different teams." Jeanette waved her hand at her as she continued on her way.

"Of course! I'll repay you someday." Winona said.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Winona:** Jeanette is such a nice girl. I wish we ended up on the same team. But I have to be satisfied with the teammates I have now and work to make sure we win. Well I guess all I can do is cheer them on now that I'm out of the challenge but it's better than being negative, right?

 **~End Confessional~**

Keith went around the cabin and entered through the window, rolling along the ground then sweeping the room with his gun at the ready. He found no one from the other team. He saw a shelf with nothing in it save for a small catapult, and beside it is a large wardrobe.

"For a government agent...you sure hide in simple places!" Keith exclaimed as he suddenly opened the wardrobe then sidestepped, letting a paintball fly past him.

"Darn. My surprise attack failed." Caleb grunted while clenching his right fist. He bursted out of the wardrobe before Keith could shoot him.

"You don't look like you could be a government- argh!" Keith gripped his stomach in pain. "Not now!"

Caleb took this chance to shoot him, but the other boy managed to roll and avoid it. Keith then aimed his gun shakily and fired, missing Caleb's shoulder by the centimeter.

"Come on, just hit something." Caleb fired again but missed due to bad aiming because he only held his gun in his left hand. Keith saw this and shook his head.

"What bad gun mastery for a government spy." Keith 'tsk'ed and aimed to fire at him again when he felt something hit his upper back. He reached around and felt it with his hand before seeing that it was black paint. "Wait, what?" He whirled around and saw the catapult facing him, having just fired a paint ball.

"I may not have gun mastery, but at least my catapult worked. Like it?" Caleb grinned. He showed his open right palm, then that's when Keith saw a thin string attached to the catapult trigger.

"You know what?" Keith turned to face him. "Yeah, it's nice. You got the makings of a rebel. Maybe we'll see each other again when we bring the world into anarchy to overthrow the government powers!"

"Um, yeah. Sure." Caleb said uneasily.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Caleb:** Hey at least I helped out my team a little. I dunno, Keith seemed like a power player if he made it this far into the challenge.

 **Keith:** I gotta get Caleb to my side when merge hits before the government does! I won't let that Daniel sink his claws into him. Or maybe his crow does the claw sinking- Agh it doesn't matter you get the point!

 **~End Confessional~**

After Keith had left, Caleb propped up his catapult and loaded it again. Gabriel entered the cabin to meet with him

"Is there anyone else left?..." Gabriel asked the tinkerer.

"If the challenge has ended, wouldn't Valnoir let us know?" Caleb asked back.

"Good point..." Gabriel sighed and flopped down on the bed. "If we lose...who will you vote for?.."

"Talking about losing already?" Caleb looked at him.

"Just wanna...weigh my options..." Gabriel stated. "And with a same sex cabin...it's going to be hard to get the girls' opinions...So what do you say?"

"You want an alliance?" Caleb asked. He then shrugged and went back to tending to his catapult. "Sure thing as long as you don't bother me when I'm working."

"Working?..." Gabriel glanced at what the other boy was doing and then noticed the small mechanism. "Was that how you...defeated Keith?"

"Yeah." Caleb said nonchalantly as he thought of the position the catapult should be facing.

"I suggest making the catapult face this door..." Gabriel pointed at the front door. "It'll be easy to defend the windows...but if they storm the front door then we need more paint balls..flying that way." He explained.

"Good idea." Caleb positioned the catapult so it would face the front door and soon finished his preparation.

"So how do you fire it?..." Gabriel asked. Caleb held up his string.

"With this. I just tug at it and the lock trips and it fires." He explained. "It's pretty simple."

"Yet it got out one of the other team..." Gabriel smiled a bit. "Impressive.."

"Thanks." Caleb scratched the back of his head. He then saw movement by the window. "I think they're here." He readied his gun. Gabriel did the same and sat up from his bed. The tinkerer peeked outside the window but saw no one there. "Where did they go?"

"Over here!..." Gabriel called out as he began firing when the front door opened to reveal Jeanette. Her parasol was already in front of her, blocking all the paint balls Gabriel fired.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen." Jeanette greeted with a smile. "I take it you're the only ones remaining to stand for your team?"

"I guess so..." Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her.

"It's two against one." Caleb frowned. "You don't stand a chance."

"Is that right? Great minds can conquer the world, you know." Jeanette laughed a bit.

"Hmph...let's do this." Gabriel reloaded and immediately rolled under the bed when Jeanette began firing at him.

Caleb took cover by the wardrobe and opened the door to further shield himself as Jeanette fired at him before she reloaded. Caleb peeked out and was about to tug at the string when he saw Gabriel from under the bed shake his head at him.

"Take this!" Caleb fired at Jeanette blindly as he pointed his gun out and just started to open fire. This caused his shots to be very inaccurate and therefore Jeanette was able to block it easily.

"Are you panicking?" Jeanette gave an amused scoff. "This should be easy then." She sidestepped a bit to get a good aim at Caleb and fired once, almost getting him if not for him retreating back his hand.

"Don't think he's...your only opponent." Gabriel clenched his teeth and peeked out from under the bed, firing more shots at Jeanette before getting back to cover. Jeanette blocked those as well then came up with a plan.

"Hiding under the bed will not improve your defense." Jeanette said as she crouched and aimed.

"Ha!...You fell for it.." Gabriel smirked as he came out of hiding and saw her exposed shoulders. He was about to fire when he noticed that Jeanette was aiming above the bed and not under it. The girl smiled victoriously as she took the first shot and hit Gabriel right in the torso. "Ugh...Damn it.." He cursed to himself.

"I am the tactical genius, it seems." Jeanette said proudly, still crouching. "Now for the last one." She aimed her gun at Caleb's exposed boots.

"Now!..." Gabriel told him. Caleb nodded and immediately tugged on the string, making the catapult launch the black paint ball.

"What?" Jeanette looked up at the small sound made by the catapult and got hit on the forehead. Black paint streaked down her cheeks as she had a shocked look on her face. "What?" She repeated.

"Guess you're not a tactical genius..." Gabriel smirked. At that, the air horn sounded to signal the end of the challenge.

"It looks like the Black Knights have won the challenge. White Stallions, I'll see you at the docks for the ceremony in an hour." Valnoir's voice rang out in the megaphones scattered around the island.

"It was a good challenge, either way." Jeanette said as she wiped some of the black paint off with her hand.

"Yeah. Sure thing." Caleb said nonchalantly without glancing her way as he tended to his catapult.

"Go to your teammates then...an hour isn't enough to get both sexes to cooperate with votes..." Gabriel suggested. "Based from experience..of course.."

"I will take your word for it then. But I am confident this vote will go my way." Jeanette smiled as she left with Gabriel and Caleb following behind.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Jeanette:** We may have lost this challenge, but we can only learn from this mistake and come back stronger. In order to make sure of that, the elimination of a weak link is in order.

 **~End Confessional~**

The White Stallions met up at the rocky plains where they first clashed with the other team in the challenge. All of them looked splattered in black paint one way or another.

"It's official. Jeanette has it worst." Nymeria chimed as Jeanette approached the team.

"A forehead shot." Quincey noticed. "Did Gabriel get you?"

"No." Jeanette shook her head. "It was a catapult."

"I know how that feels." Keith sighed.

"But now we lost so we gotta vote someone off." Gabriella shook her head sadly.

"That's the only way." Abby said to her. "Our team needs to cut off the weakest link."

"I agree." Jeanette nodded.

"We're going to spare Beatrice, right?" Jackie laughed, going back to his jolly demeanor. "We can't blame someone who had to sit out." He waggled his finger at them.

"That's fair." Abby nodded.

"Then I say we vote him out!" Keith pointed an accusatory finger at Daniel, who stood a bit further away from the others.

"This again?" Alysson sighed in exasperation. "Que c'est ennuyeux!"

"It's only day two and you're already sick of it, huh?" Beatrice glanced towards him.

"You guys don't understand. Daniel is a government spy!" Keith insisted.

"Does this mean you'll vote for him?" Abby asked.

"Yeah and no one can change my vote!" Keith declared.

"I'm with you!" Nymeria raised her hand eagerly.

"Wait, what?" Gabriella blinked at Nymeria's sudden volunteering.

"Nymeria, we will talk later." Jeanette said sternly to the girl.

"What about you? Who will you vote for tonight?" Quincey asked Jeanette.

"I will consider voting for Daniel, but not because of the reason Keith gave." Jeanette stated. "However, I am open to suggestions."

"I say we vote for Jackie." Alysson spoke up. "He was too mean to me during he challenge." He cried crocodile tears to be more dramatic.

"All for the sake of the challenge." Jackie laughed and shrugged him off. "Not my fault I acted that way. I wanted to win. Do you?"

"Yeah of course but you don't gotta be so mean about it. You won't even say sorry." Alysson said softly and cutely.

"Not sorry." Jackie laughed, oblivious to his charms. "Plus maybe I would have been nicer if we had a better plan."

"Excuse me?" Jeanette narrowed her eyes at the jester.

"Your plan didn't work." Jackie laughed. "It was pretty funny, but we still lost."

"I did that to keep Keith and Quincey out of the front lines." Jeanette argued.

"Which is a bad move because like I said, I'm a good shot." Quincey said.

"But your stomach was aching." Gabriella pointed out. "Even Keith was having the same problem."

"The government must have poisoned our food." Keith accused, glaring daggers at Daniel. The latter just rolled his eyes and his crow gave a single squawk.

"I think everyone did their best." Beatrice smiled.

"But we still lost. So someone is doing it wrong." Jackie grinned from ear to ear while glancing at all of them.

"This is going to be one messy vote." Abby shook her head.

"I get it. No one wants to be voted off." Nymeria frowned.

"But we have no choice. In fact, we only have around twenty minutes left to discuss." Alysson said.

"Then let us adjourn the meeting. It is clear we cannot reach an unanimous decision." Jeanette sighed and turned away. She glanced at Abby and she gazed back, then understood what she meant. Jeanette walked away to leave the team alone.

"Fine then! But I won't change my vote." Keith said adamantly as he brisk walked away on his own. Quincey followed behind him without trying to catch up.

"Really?" Alysson shook his head at him before walking off on his own. Jackie grabbed his wrist along with Beatrice's and made them follow him back to the forest area.

"Come with me, friends. I wanna show you something." Jackie laughed and was practically skipping away.

"Alright." Beatrice nodded but looked confused.

"We're not friends." Alysson pouted and tried to break free but the jester's grip tightened. "This better be good."

Daniel was left behind with his crow. He glanced around at everyone who had parted ways, seeing Nymeria, Gabriella, and Abby follow Jeanette after a short while with Abby practically dragging Nymeria along. He frowned a bit and looked at his pet, who squawked at him.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Keith:** If they don't wanna vote with me then fine! I'll do it myself. I'll vote for Daniel until he gets eliminated! They better not cry to me when he reveals his true colors.

 **Beatrice:** Everyone has different opinions about the vote. Even my foresight cannot help me in this situation. It's a blurred picture in my mind, and it's making me nervous.

 **Nymeria:** Should I vote for Daniel? Keith looked so determined and I felt so moved by it. Maybe I'll join his cause and vote him off like he said. But why is Abby dragging me around?

 **~End Confessional~**

Quincey stopped Keith before the other boy went any further by placing a hand on his shoulder. This caused the paranoid boy to whirl back and karate chop his hand away before delivering a roundhouse kick.

"What?" Quincey looked surprised as he instinctively reached out his hand to block the kick and twisted his ankle before pushing him back. "Why the violent reaction?"

"I thought you were Daniel or something. Don't just grab me like that. I'm on high alert!" Keith exclaimed before glancing around uneasily and in an almost paranoid state. "It's nighttime. Will the government make their move?"

"If they do, I will protect us." Quincey said.

"Doubtful." Keith rolled his eyes.

"That matters not right now." Quincey shook his head. "I would like to talk about the vote with you."

"I'm not changing my vote." Keith insisted.

"I know. And I'm saying that I will vote with you." Quincey started. "But only if you will be willing to keep me safe in the upcoming elimination ceremonies should we ever lose again."

"You mean you wanna be in an alliance?" Keith eyed him suspiciously. "How do I know you aren't a double agent?"

"You can trust me because I only want what is best for this team. And until now, I have never seen Daniel speak to us." Quincey remarked. "I can assume he isn't interested in the team's well being as a whole."

"That's because he was just ordered to spy on us. On me!" Keith said in a paranoid state. Quincey had to hold back a a sigh before speaking again.

"Which is why I'm making this offer. We protect each other from elimination, and for now I'll vote for Daniel just like you. Is that a deal?" Quincey held out his hand. Keith looked at it and inspected the outstretched hand a bit before tentatively giving him a short handshake.

"Deal. For now." Keith said before slinking away in the shadows while staring after him. Quincey sighed this time and just went on ahead to the docks.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Quincey:** Keith may be an unusual person, but I can help him if he would be willing to help me. I know that I'll soon be targeted for being a physical threat. I'm simply prepping until that event comes. Alliances are a necessity, and Keith is loud and easily noticeable. If ever this alliance fails, it will be his life on the line.

 **~End Confessional~**

Nymeria, Abby, Jeanette, and Gabriella walked further along the riverbank while discussing about the vote.

"Everyone really had different opinions." Abby sighed.

"I'm with Keith on his vote!" Nymeria said proudly.

"Are you sure about this?" Jeanette glanced at her. "Did you think about it well enough?"

"Yeah! Keith made me determined to do it." Nymeria grinned.

"But do you not have any other person you want gone?" Jeanette asked with a slight frown.

"I don't particularly hate anyone." Nymeria shrugged.

"What if we pitch someone else to you?" Gabriella suggested then turned to Jeanette. "Who's it gonna be?"

"I believe we should vote for Jackie." Jeanette declared.

"The clown?" Abby tilted her head.

"Jester." Nymeria corrected. "There's a difference."

"Fine. Jester. But why him?" Abby asked.

"If what Alysson said is true, then Jackie is not a team player." Jeanette said. "I already suspected there was something wrong with his attitude. Alysson just confirmed my suspicions."

"But I just saw Alysson go with Jackie and Beatrice earlier." Gabriella pointed out.

"Um, I clearly saw him practically dragging the poor girl." Abby remarked.

"And that only emphasizes my point." Jeanette told them. "Jackie cannot be trusted. I can read his personality now, and I am not liking the way this is going. Eliminating him will surely heighten team morale."

"Don't forget, he kinda spoke out against your plan even though he agreed to it earlier." Nymeria remembered. "What a backstabber." She pouted.

"Then it's settled then?" Abby put her hand in, palm facing down. "We're voting for Jackie?" Gabriella nodded and put her hand in as well. After a short while of contemplating what they were doing, Jeanette put hers in as well.

"Nymeria?" Gabriella turned towards the girl.

"Well this is a pretty good pitch too." Nymeria looked hesitant. She then grinned widely and put her hand in. "Why not?"

"We got this, girls." Abby smiled at the rest of them. "This is true teamwork." They failed to notice Daniel's crow behind a medium sized boulder near them.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Gabriella:** This is starting to feel more like a really solid alliance. But I'm still going to make Abby my partner in crime. Does she even remember that? Heh, pretty sure she does since it's only day two.

 **Abby:** I like the teamwork we have going on and Jeanette is right in saying that Jackie is making team morale low. I don't know what's wrong with him but I can't have that on the team I'm managing.

 **~End Confessional~**

Jackie led Beatrice and Alysson to a small clearing in the forest where no one can overhear them.

"I think we're in the clear." Jackie said happily.

"Uhuh." Alysson rolled his eyes. "You acting like that while smiling like that isn't cute."

"I can tell you wanted to talk about the vote. So who did you have in mind?" Beatrice tilted her head.

"I'm glad ya asked! Hahahaha!" Jackie laughed. "Let's go vote out Daniel!"

"I didn't expect that honestly." Alysson blinked. "I thought you were gonna say to vote out Jeanette. You did go against her just earlier."

"Yeah but I know she's still useful. Daniel, on the other hand, isn't useful at all." Jackie said. "Gotta think logical for the sake of the team." He started laughing again.

"I have no qualms with that. It is hard to socialize with him too." Beatrice agreed.

"But he's cute. His silence and mysterious nature is kinda amazing." Alysson giggled.

"But we didn't join this game to find love. We joined to win!" Jackie laughed and poked Alysson's nose, which made the latter glare at him and shove his hand away.

"Now that's not completely true." Beatrice tried to say.

"But it mostly is!" Jackie insisted and laughed almost hysterically. "So we're voting as if we wanna win! Get it? Because we came here to win it all!"

"So bottom line is, Daniel is on the chopping block tonight?" Alysson asked while looking away.

"Yepepep!" Jackie nodded giddily.

"I agree with the vote." Beatrice nodded.

"Yeah me too." Alysson shrugged. "It's cute when a man takes charge." He winked at Jackie, but the jester looked oblivious as he laughed a bit as they all agreed.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Jackie:** Daniel is such a funny guy. How can he hope to win if he can't even talk to us? HAHAHAHA!

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Elimination Ceremony)**

The White Stallions arrived at the docks where the ceremony will take place. They took their seats and waited for Valnoir and Blaineley to start.

"Welcome to your first elimination ceremony, White Stallions." Valnoir said with a sinister grin. "It seems your prior victory will soon become even grounds."

"We'll get back up. This team won't be held back by this one loss." Abby said confidently.

"Yes but one of you will be held back from getting a chance at the million. Permanently." Valnoir smirked.

"Ready to vote? Hope it gets dramatic." Blaineley said in a bored tone.

"I'm sure it will be. Seeing anyone's hopes and dreams crushed through elimination is never boring." Valnoir cackled.

"I'm glad you're having fun." Gabriella sighed.

"Sadique." Alysson muttered.

"I'm ready to vote!" Jackie laughed.

"Ooh! Me too!" Nymeria raised her hand excitedly.

"I'm ready to bring down the power!" Keith said in determination.

"What a lively group." Jeanette shook her head.

"I can sense dread ahead." Beatrice said sadly.

"Dread is always present in a show like this. There is nothing new about it." Quincey said simply. "Let us get on with the votes."

"Right. I can't wait to see who goes." Blaineley said and ushered them to go along to vote in the confessional booth.

After a while, everyone finished voting and returned to their seats. Valnoir and Blaineley were waiting for them to get settled down before starting.

"The votes are in, so let's see who's in the chopping block." Valnoir grinned.

"If I call your name, it means you received a vote." Blaineley explained. "If you have the most votes, then you're out of here. Simple enough right? Then let's get this over with so I can sleep. First vote, Daniel."

Daniel tilted his head and his crow looked at him.

"Second vote, Jackie." Blaineley said. Jackie laughed more as his name was called.

"That's funny!" The jester said.

"Third and fourth votes, Jackie." Blaineley read.

"That's even funnier!" Jackie continued to laugh, but his face started to sweat a bit.

"Fifth and sixth votes go to Daniel." The co-host announced. Daniel looked nervous and narrowed his eyes a bit. Keith grinned and clenched his fist. "The seventh vote also goes to Daniel." His crow squawked at that.

"This is looking pretty close." Valnoir cackled. "That's four votes for Daniel and three for Jackie."

"Pretty close indeed." Jackie retained his grin. Beatrice, however, looked a bit worried.

"Eighth vote goes to Jackie, tying it up to four votes each." Blaineley said. This time, Jackie stopped laughing and looked a bit more serious now. "The last two votes go to..." She paused.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"...Both Jackie and Daniel!" Blaineley announced.

"That's two ties in a row." Valnoir remarked. "Such a conflicted cast."

"So now we need to do a tie breaker?" Alysson asked.

"This is gonna be so exciting!" Nymeria cheered.

"That's right." Valnoir nodded. "I already used the coin flip tiebreaker last round, so let's try something different." He took something out of his pocket but didn't show it to them as he closed his fist around it.

"What's that?" Gabriella asked curiously.

"It's a small ball." Valnoir said. "It's either a black or white ball. You'll have to guess which it is."

"So simple." Blaineley yawned.

"Then it's a good thing you're not the main host." Valnoir retorted. "Daniel, call it." The boy remained silent as his crow simply looked on at the events happening. "Fine. It's all yours, Jackie."

"It's black." Jackie said while grinning, but was clearly sweating.

"Then Daniel chooses white by default." Valnoir grinned as he held out his closed fist. Everyone leaned forward a bit to get a good look at what color the ball is. He opened it and a black ball was dropped and it bounced on the ground.

"Black. Jackie gets to stay." Beatrice sighed in relief as she smiled.

"And Daniel gets to leave!" Keith stood up and smirked. "Tell your superiors you failed them! Maybe they'll either evict you or execute you for your failure."

"Is that what the government does to people who fail?" Nymeria wondered out loud.

"I suggest not thinking too much on it." Jeanette sighed and shook her head.

"Hey at least he didn't make a peep or anything. I was so nervous!" Jackie exclaimed.

Daniel stood up and looked sad. His crow remained perched but didn't make any sound.

"I was going to ask if you have any last words but that would be a waste of time." Blaineley rolled her eyes. "So let's just get you out of here."

"Follow me." Valnoir grinned and led Daniel to the end of the dock where a yacht was waiting for him. "Time for you to go." Daniel just nodded and got on the yacht with his crow.

"The rest of you may go back to your cabins." Blaineley said and ushered them away.

"I wanna see him go. It's only right and a form of respect." Abby said.

"I will stay as well." Quincey offered.

"No. Now go back." Blaineley said, irritated. The two glanced at each other before joining the others going back.

The yacht carrying Daniel left the dock and went out into the open sea. Valnoir and Blaineley watched it go and saw a whirlpool suddenly form in the middle of the sea and grow larger exponentially at a fast rate. The yacht got caught in it and swirled around violently and made its way down while the vortex closed up in the same rate. The crow's squawks can be heard a bit before it completely drowned out.

"And that just happened." Valnoir chuckled.

"That wasn't boring at least." Blaineley shrugged then turned to face the camera. "Let's close the episode already."

"Very well." The host nodded and faced the camera as well. "The second elimination surely made Daniel's dreams of winning spiral down in a vortex." He smirked.

"That should serve as a reminder that the White Stallions should always stay on their toes." Blaineley added.

"But they don't look like they're going to give up easily." Valnoir remarked. "And that's why this show is the best. People trying so hard only to be met with crushing defeat and eliminations."

"There'll be more to come." Blaineley said. "But we'll all have to wait until tomorrow to find out."

"What will Keith do now that he took out the alleged government spy?" Valnoir said to the camera.

"Will the Black Knights ride this momentum and win the next challenge as well?" Blaineley added.

"And Quincey ever fully obey the plans made by Jeanette?" Valnoir said. "Find out next time on Total..."

"Drama..." Blaineley chimed in.

"Forgotten Island!" They both finished with a flair.

* * *

 **~Votes~**

 **Jackie:** I vote for Daniel, but I think I made that obvious enough. Hahahaha!

 **Beatrice:** My foresight cannot tell me who'll be voted off tonight, but that does not mean I will hesitate in my vote. I vote for Daniel.

 **Keith:** Time to take out the spy! Begone, Daniel! *adjusts tin foil hat on his head*

 **Jeanette:** Jackie, you are hard to read and therefore hard to control. I will not have you stay any longer. Goodbye.

 **Gabriella:** We all agreed to vote for Jackie and that's what I'll do. No hard feelings jester boy.

 **Quincey:** I have to gain Keith's trust to ensure my safety in this time and in the merge. I will vote for Daniel, and I can always double my efforts if needed.

 **Daniel:** *holds up a paper that has Jackie's name written in it*

 **Nymeria:** I know I agreed to vote for Jackie like they said, but I really think I should follow my first choice and go vote for Daniel. Really sorry but Keith's pitch was way cooler and better.

 **Abby:** Jackie, it's clear you are not a team player. I have to vote for you to make the team's morale higher.

 **Alysson:** As if I'll do what that clown says. I wanted to take my chances with him but his attitude in the challenge made me change my mind. So tonight I vote for Jackie.

 **~Eliminated~**

 **20th place: Tom - The Host's Pet**

 **19th place: Daniel - The Crow Whisperer**

* * *

 **That's the end for Daniel. Going in, I knew that he wouldn't go that far. And as you can see, he really didn't. Though his main role was to be nothing more than a stepping stone, it was interesting to see where I could go with a mute character. Not being able to voice out his thoughts or communicate with his team really did a number on him early on. I think it's quite obvious that he was mute, considering he never made a single confessional. But let's move on from that, shall we? See you all next time! XBloodLegendX**


	4. 3: Dodge Your Mistakes

The camera panned down to the docks of the forgotten island, where Valnoir was standing there with a sinister smile on his face. Blaineley wasn't there with him.

"Welcome back to Total Drama Forgotten Island." Valnoir started. "Yesterday, our campers did the paintball challenge, and bullets flied on that day." He cackled.

"And I mean it literally made its marks. There was black and white paint everywhere you could almost mistake it for an old film." The host shrugged. "But that wasn't important. Each team had their own strategy to proceed with the challenge, and yet it all went down to improvisation."

He picked up an unused paintball gun from the table and inspected it while he talked. "Some people like Keith, Quincey, Eliza, and Gabriel used their gun knowledge and wits to get them far ahead in the challenge. While others like Jeanette and Caleb became crafty with their methods."

Valnoir raked his long hair and smirked at the camera. "In the end, Caleb brought home the win by using his mini catapult to take out Keith and Jeanette, both skilled opponents yet they were caught off guard. This meant the White Stallions had to go through the elimination ceremony. After the split votes and lies, it was another tiebreaker, this time between Daniel and Jackie. And after another game of chance, it was Daniel who was sent home in 19th place." He cackled.

"Valnoir!? Did you seriously do the introduction without me!?" An angry Blaineley stormed into the scene. She saw the camera filming Valnoir for the introductions and glared at the host.

"You overslept." Valnoir crossed his arms and shook his head in disappointment. "I expected better from the co-host."

"You- You didn't even bother to wake me up!" Blaineley yelled.

"But where's the fun in that?" Valnoir cackled. "Calm down, Mildred. You're making a scene."

"I'll show you a scene!" Blaineley made strangling motions with her hands as she inched closer to Valnoir. The man just rolled his eyes and faced the camera.

"Stay tuned to Total Drama Forgotten Island!" He said immediately before running away off camera with Blaineley chasing after him.

* * *

 **(Girls' Cabin)**

Most of the girls had already left the cabin to go outside except for Jamie and Eliza who were still asleep and Alysson who was awake but remained inside. Alysson sat in front of the small desk that had a mirror, fixing his hair while already in his usual clothes. Eliza woke up with a yawn and saw him there.

"Good morning." She greeted. She saw Jamie still asleep in her bed and she smirked. "Guess I woke up first this time."

"Technically, most of the girls woke up before you." Alysson pointed out as he still kept fixing his hair.

"Don't ruin the moment." Eliza pouted and then giggled as she went to sit on Jamie's bed. "She's cute when she sleeps."

"Meh." Alysson shrugged as he finally put down the comb.

"You been sitting here a while?" Eliza raised an eyebrow.

"I usually take this long to fix my hair. Is it good now?" Alysson asked as he inspected himself in the mirror.

"Yeah, good to go." Eliza gave a thumbs up. "But you know, we can have some fun here while little miss police officer is still asleep." She winked while stroking Jamie's bed hair gently.

This caused Alysson to whip his head around to face her with a shocked look.

"R-Right now?" Alysson stammered a bit.

"Why not? Or maybe you don't swing that way. That's fine too." Eliza giggled while gazing at him.

"Y-Yeah that's it. I just don't swing that way." Alysson chuckled with a hint of nervousness and stood up. "I better go see what's for breakfast. See you around!" He said before hurrying to the door and leaving the cabin. Eliza stared after him while still stroking Jamie's hair, thinking to herself.

"Um, what are you doing?" Jamie's voice broke Eliza's train of thought. The police officer opened one eye as she noticed the other girl stroking her hair.

"Oh nothing, little polizia." Eliza said innocently and stopped. "Just wanted to stop by and say good morning."

"But what kind of 'good morning' is that?" Jamie frowned as she sat up.

"The best kind." Eliza slinked her arm around the other girl's shoulder and whispered it before standing up and leaving while giggling. Jamie blinked while staring after her, a very faint blush on her cheeks.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Eliza:** Alysson was pretty defensive when I was just making a light joke. Of course I'll respect women if they don't swing that way, but then again I'm bi so it doesn't affect me too much. And yet, her reaction was a bit...off? I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking things, but that's the first reaction I've seen with just being in denial.

 **Alysson:** Is she onto me? Or maybe I'm just overthinking things. She looks skilled but it doesn't mean she's that smart. She can't possibly know I'm a guy, right?

 **Jamie:** Um, why was Eliza stroking my hair? Not that it really makes me too weirded out, but it's still kinda weird. I would arrest her for harassment but then I realized this island has no country's laws in it. But I didn't enjoy it at all. *the faint blush returned*

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Boys' Cabin)**

Most of the guys were all outside doing their own thing, and Kazuo was observing Antoine observe the rest of them.

"Having fun people-watching?" Kazuo asked the trivia guru.

"Shut up. You're people-watching too." Antoine rolled his eyes in annoyance. Kazuo chuckled.

"Actually, I'm Antoine-watching. I really haven't noticed anything interesting about you." Kazuo remarked.

"Hey, I'm the smartest person on this island!" Antoine glared as he walked towards him and glared, trying to look intimidating.

"With your trivia?" Kazuo tilted his head, unfazed by this approach. "I don't think it's any better."

"What did you say!?" Antoine snapped. He was about to say something else when Keith's voice rang out.

"Keep it down! You'll attract the government agents!" Keith exclaimed as he ran up to the two.

"You're shouting too!" Antoine countered.

"And what do you mean by government agents? You think there are some on this island with us?" Kazuo asked curiously.

"Yeah like that Daniel." Keith said.

"But wasn't he eliminated last night?" Kazuo tried to remember.

"And how do you know that? You're just a dumb person!" Antoine tried to insult.

"He wasn't in his bed and I was the last one to fall asleep." Kazuo said simply. "Didn't see his crow either. I think everyone here got what's going on by now."

"Oh right, Daniel is gone." Keith realized. "That means no government spies. Yet." He said the last part in an almost paranoid whisper.

"I want to see where this goes." Kazuo grinned. "Keith here is losing his sense of purpose after finding out the team voted out the government spy."

"Oh please. I bet Daniel wasn't even working with the government." Antoine rolled his eyes. Keith suddenly grabbed him by the collar and stared hard with paranoid eyes.

"You don't know anything. So just don't assume you do. Got it?" Keith said slowly. Antoine gulped but tried to act tough.

"H-Hey get off me!" The trivia guru protested. Keith let him go and Antoine brushed down his shirt.

"This should be interesting." Kazuo nodded with a smile.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Kazuo:** I should help Keith out and find any potential spies. Now, who can I falsely accuse in order to incite more drama and chaos? I want to see where the butterfly effect will take Keith's paranoia.

 **Antoine:** How dare Keith touch me like that! If he was on my team, I'd have him eliminated already! But there's an alternative method, and that's to win challenges so that his team will vote him out eventually.

 **Keith:** Kazuo is right in a way. I need to find another government spy in order to eliminate them as well. But the question is, who?

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Girls' Cabin)**

Caitlyn took pictures of Gabriella and Abby as they cooked the fish.

"Can you turn your head to the side a bit so I can get your good side?" She asked Abby while preparing the camera. Abby smiled and nodded.

"Okay." She did as she was told and Caitlyn took the photo.

"Perfect." The journalist grinned as she reviewed the photos she took.

"Hey, do you wanna help out?" Gabriella asked Caitlyn.

"What happened to Jeanette and Nymeria? Weren't you guys the ones cooking?" Caitlyn asked while reviewing past photos.

"Yeah but Jeanette wanted to talk to Nymeria alone for a bit." Abby answered.

"Sounds interesting." Caitlyn grinned. "Don't you want to know what's going on?"

"They'll be back in a bit. And we don't want to invade their privacy." Abby stated.

"In the meantime, we're cooking the fish." Gabriella added.

"Speaking of that, I just wanna say thanks for cooking breakfast for us even though we're on different teams." Caitlyn said with a grin.

"I don't wanna apply the team thing even here. Everyone deserves to have a good breakfast everyday." Gabriella smiled.

"Thanks for that. Anyway, you both seem like really nice people, so what do you say we work together when merge comes?" Caitlyn suggested.

"Isn't it a bit too early for that? There are still a lot more eliminations we have to go through." Abby pointed out. "And we aren't planning to go easy on you."

"Likewise." Caitlyn smirked. "Just wanted to let you know I'm willing to work with you when that time comes." She propped up her camera on the tripod and then joined the other girls.

"Yeah, I think you'd make for a good ally." Gabriella chimed in.

"Great! Let's take one last picture before I help you guys." Caitlyn said. They all smiled as the camera flashed.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Gabriella:** Caitlyn looks like a really capable and nice person. I mean she likes the outdoors and is outgoing too, so that's a plus for me. But I gotta side with Abby on this one, it is still too early to make alliances with the other team. We have to focus on winning more challenges.

 **Abby:** I think Caitlyn will make for a great ally later on, but the priority still lies in out own team. The team manager can't make deals with other teams if her own isn't polished.

 **Caitlyn:** I plan on making as many connections as possible before the drama rises too much. You see, when chaos ensues, people will want you to take their side. I want to broaden my horizons as much as possible before that time comes. *she smirks*

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Boys' Cabin)**

Jackie was out picking berries happily when he heard rustling in the bushes.

"Who is it?" He called out in an almost sing-song voice.

"It's just me." Beatrice called out as she emerged from the bushes while eating berries.

"Well well well, look who's up early!" Jackie exclaimed. "Want some more?" He offered the berries from the basket.

"Yes, thank you." Beatrice said and got a few more. "I skipped the breakfast the girls are making to make sure I get here on time."

"Isn't your breakfast fish?" Jackie asked.

"Yeah. But I wanted to talk with you instead." Beatrice gave a small smile.

"Aw shucks. You shouldn't have." Jackie laughed and pat her head. "Then come walk with me back to the cabin. I got to give this back to the others."

"Alright." Beatrice nodded. They started making their way back to the boys' cabin with Beatrice looking a bit troubled.

"I feel like I haven't told you much about myself." Beatrice suddenly said.

"What?" Jackie looked taken aback by the sudden statement. "You're right, you didn't. But our friendship can change that!" He laughed.

"You consider me your friend?" Beatrice asked.

"Sure I do!" Jackie exclaimed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked back. "So you can tell me anything at all!"

"Okay. Thank you." Beatrice nodded with a small smile. "I wanted to tell you that I have a special talent."

"Special talent? I wanna know!" Jackie said gleefully.

"It's foresight." Beatrice said then looked away for a bit. "I know. It's weird."

"Foresight? Like, fortune telling and stuff?" Jackie looked surprised. "That's super! You can help out in challenges like that."

"Now that I think about it, didn't I give you a hint of it when we first met?" Beatrice asked him.

"You meant the time when we were watching a movie right?" The jester tried to remember. "I thought you meant you just saw the movie already and that's why you know how it ends."

"That's not it, no." Beatrice shook her head. "I do have that talent. But it's so vague."

"Vague?" Jackie repeated as he ate a berry.

"I can't see much into the future, and I can't see how an elimination goes at all." Beatrice said sadly.

"But can you at least predict what the next challenge will be? Or how our team will do?" Jackie asked as they neared the cabin.

"I saw a glimpse of it. It involves a ball." Beatrice closed her eyes and tried to remember. "I cannot see how our team will fare, but we all looked kinda happy."

"Maybe it's basketball or volleyball. I love those games!" Jackie laughed. "Well here we are." He said as they emerged from the forest and into the clearing.

"I should go. I sorta don't feel safe in here." Beatrice frowned. "Call it a foresight too."

"If you say so." Jackie shrugged. "See ya in the next challenge then!" He waved at her as she left.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Beatrice:** This gift, or curse, has helped me and gave me sadness. I can only hope to one day see more into the future.

 **Jackie:** I think Beatrice still has room to improve if she really has the power to see the future! I hope we can win the next challenge because of it!

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Girls' Cabin)**

Jeanette and Nymeria were talking on the further side of the riverbank where no one was around.

"Tell me honestly, did you vote for Jackie last night?" Jeanette asked her with crossed arms.

"Nope! I voted for Daniel." Nymerai exclaimed. She then scratched her head and looked down when the other girl narrowed her eyes at her.

"Our alliance had an agreement, did it not?" Jeanette asked.

"Yeah I know." Nymeria said apologetically.

"Was our pitch not good enough for you?" Jeanette asked. "You can leave the alliance if you so wish."

"Wait wait wait, I don't wanna leave." Nymeria clarified. "But fine I'll vote with you guys next time. Promise!"

"If you are sure." Jeanette sighed.

Caleb was then seen passing by them while heading for the cabin.

"Good morning, Caleb!" Nymeria greeted.

"Oh. Hi." Caleb said without looking at her and just went on by.

"Don't you wanna stay and talk?" Nymeria asked with a grin.

"Are we not going to help the other girls cook breakfast?" Jeanette raised an eyebrow.

"He can help us while he's here." Nymeria suggested.

"Uh, I gotta do something. I'm busy." Caleb said and went on ahead with a faster walking speed.

"What's up with him?" Nymeria asked the other girl.

"He's too reserved. His social game will not get him anywhere." Jeanette stated.

"So he doesn't have friends here?" Nymeria asked with a frown.

"I suspect he will befriend anyone as long as they have a use in challenges." Jeanette said. "But other than that, he relies on his own skill and technique."

"That's pretty cool!" Nymeria said.

"He was the last person I faced last challenge, and he defeated me with a little contraption of his. I believe it was a catapult." Jeanette remarked. "He is someone to watch out for, despite his shortcomings."

"But we can win against him right?" Nymeria asked hopefully.

"Of course. Every person has a weakness." Jeanette said as she stared after Caleb. "And we can exploit that in due time."

 **~Confessional~**

 **Jeanette:** As capable as Caleb is in challenges, everyone has a weakness. To exploit it will take time, but worth the effort. Now the question is who I can rely on to help me with this daring endeavor.

 **Nymeria:** Jeanette is so cool with these strategies and stuffs! I wish I was like her. But I hope I can still be useful to the team in my own way! Gotta be a team player here.

 **Caleb:** I'm surprised that girl with the umbrella doesn't hate me for splattering paint on her pretty face or anything during the challenge. She's a good sport and a good opponent.

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Forest)**

Quincey was busy with his morning exercises along the forest path, jogging and weaving through the trees in perfect rhythm. He saw Winona walking around casually ahead of him, blocking his path.

"Look out, miss!" Quincey called out. Winona turned her head and saw Quincey going full speed ahead.

"Aaah!" Winona cowered and tried to brace herself for impact. However, Quincey spun around in time and held her shoulder a bit to change his positioning in an easier way, avoiding the hard impact.

"Please pardon me." Quincey said as he stopped and turned back to face her. He bowed apologetically.

"Oh no it's quite alright. It's my fault for not watching where I was going." Winona quickly said.

"But if you fell, it would ruin that pretty dress and smear such a beautiful face with mud." Quincey said.

This made Winona blush a bit. "Why, thank you. But you needn't worry so much. I'm just your everyday girl."

"With an exquisite taste for fashion? Nonsense." Quincey shook his head. "I'm Quincey, in case you are not aware."

"I am." Winona affirmed. "I'm Winona. It's nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure meeting you too." Quincey smiled. "I'll see you in the next challenge then?"

"I will. Let's have a good game this time around too." The fashionista beamed. "After all, the last challenge wasn't for me."

"Ah, yes. The paint, right?" Quincey asked.

"Yeah. Good thing Jeanette understood and only hit my hand." Winona laughed a bit.

"I'm sure she understands because she's from a well known family that invests in the fashion industry in Europe." Quincey explained. "Superbia, I believe is the name of her fashion line."

"Oooh! I read about that in a fashion magazine issue just last week." Winona squealed. "I can't believe Jeanette owns it!"

"Technically, her mother pioneered it but I'm sure she put in just as much effort to make it happen." Quincey said.

"Then I gotta get her autograph! Thanks, Quincey! It was nice meeting you!" Winona called out as she began running towards the riverbank again as fast as her stilettos can take her.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Winona:** Quincey is kinda cute, isn't he? Maybe he's interested in me. I do like a man who can dress well.

 **Quincey:** Winona is a pleasant and a beautiful woman, but I'm not sure how long she can last in this game. She can't even run fast because of her footwear.

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Riverbank)**

Silvia walked around the riverbank only to see Jamie doing pushups nearby.

"Seems someone is trying to get psyched up." Silvia remarked.

"I wanna do what I can to help us win the next challenge." Jamie said as she stopped and stood back up, wiping off sweat with her arm. "I know we won and all, but I didn't help out." She frowned.

"That's all Kazuo's fault. I'll go talk to him before the challenge starts, don't worry." Silvia assured her. "Anyway, I can't help but notice you only got two badges. Are you new in the force?"

"Oh this? I only wore these because if I wear the rest then it would look stuffy." Jamie laughed.

"Really?" Silvia blinked. She then noticed one badge looking unusual. It's a black obsidian with silver swirling flames surrounding it in a vortex. "But what's that badge? Never seen it before."

"This one isn't an official police badge. It's a family pin." Jamie said as she looked down at the badge.

"And you wear it with your uniform?" Silvia tilted her head.

"It's a special thing. My family is pretty well known in the force." Jamie said with a smile. "And what's your story? Is the armor solely for the cosplay thing?"

"That's right. It's sturdy enough to protect me but otherwise it's purely for show." Silvia explained. "But it looks pretty realistic, right?" She asked hopefully.

"Yep!" Jamie affirmed with a nod. "I want one of those."

"That'll cost you." Silvia winked.

"I got money." Jamie smirked.

"Do you want a blaster gun with that?" Silvia smirked back.

"Got a real one back home." Jamie said. The two girls laughed and didn't notice Eliza standing behind a tree, narrowing her eyes at the scene.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Silvia:** Jamie might make for a useful ally and friend. Originally, Tom was supposed to be my first ally but ended up being the first boot instead. So I need to act fast to get her on my side.

 **Eliza:** I don't know what Silvia is doing, but she better keep her distance. I mean, I was there first. *she pouts*

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Boys' Cabin)**

Gabriel went back inside the cabin after Jackie distributed the berries and ate alone inside. He checked the time on the wall clock and saw that it's still a bit early. Just then, Alysson popped up from the cabin window and grinned at him.

"Hey there." Alysson greeted flirtatiously.

"What?..." Gabriel looked at him while eating his berries.

"Nothing. Just wanted to talk." Alysson continued to flirt. "Are the berries good?"

"I've tasted better...Jackie must not have gotten far..." Gabriel grunted.

"I taste better." Alysson winked as he leaned forward from the window.

"And I don't care..I want good berries." Gabriel glanced at Alysson before finishing up his berries and standing up.

"Where are you going? Outside to meet me?" Alysson grinned.

"I'm going outside to avoid you..." Gabriel said bluntly as he went out.

"Damn it. Why is this so difficult?" Alysson cursed silently to himself.

"Hey, what'cha doin'?" Kazuo asked as he went over to him. "You spying on guys?"

"Something like that." Alysson immediately regained his composure and started up with his smooth and flirtatious tone. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering. Might be interesting too." Kazuo shrugged. He then saw Gabriel leave and avoid them. "Were you talking to that guy?"

"Yeah but he brushed me off. Maybe you'll be better company." Alysson said while moving closer to him and tracing a finger along his shoulder.

"I am!" Kazuo said proudly while grinning. "What do you wanna talk about?"

"Let's talk about you." Alysson winked.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Alysson:** Okay who talks about their dead leaf for ten minutes straight? A. Dead. Leaf. Why does he even have that?

 **Gabriel:** Why can't people understand...that I just don't want to talk to them unless...the topic interests me. Shouldn't I be giving off an aura for them...to know if I think they're boring or not?

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

The two teams gathered by a large clearing somewhere in the island, where the hosts are waiting for them inside a transparent cubic dome. They all entered and saw a dodgeball court inside as well as two bleachers on one side. One bleacher was white colored with the White Stallions' flag and the other was black with the Black Knights' flag. A few dodgeballs are scattered around the court.

"Welcome, campers, to your next challenge!" Blaineley greeted them as they took their seats in the respective bleachers.

"I think they have a good idea of what the challenge is, but we'll explain it for formality." Valnoir smirked. "You're going to have a dodgeball fight!"

"I love dodgeball!" Jackie exclaimed.

"I hate dodgeball..." Gabriel groaned.

"Not the kind of balls I want." Alysson commented.

"Alysson!" Abby scolded with a blush.

"Quiet!" Valnoir said. "Anyway, you'll send in five members to play for your team in a best two out of three games format."

"The rules are simple. You throw a ball at the opposing team's members and if they get hit then they are out. This goes on until you completely wiped out all five members for that round." Blaineley added.

"If the other team's member catches a ball thrown at them, the other team can bring one more person into the court." Valnoir explained. "If you fail to catch the ball, you still get benched. Understood?"

"More or less." Jamie said.

"Oh and one more thing." Blaineley said. "Everyone needs to have a turn at playing at least once. And the same five members cannot play together at the next round."

"Interesting." Jeanette said softly.

"We also added another rule, to make it different from the original season's dodgeball challenge." Valnoir grinned sadistically. "Before a round starts, you get to ban two people from each team. However, you cannot ban those people again in the upcoming rounds."

"What? Now that's new. And I'll admit, pretty cool." Gabriella remarked.

"That's fair I suppose." Quincey said.

"All you dumb people are going down!" Antoine taunted.

"Cool it, Antoine." Silvia sighed.

"If you think the government will help you rig this game, then you got another thing coming!" Keith countered.

"Guess Daniel's elimination meant nothing to him." Alysson muttered while shaking his head.

"Everyone looks about ready to start, so talk among yourselves who you'll ban for the first round!" Valnoir ordered. Both teams started to talk in hushed tones about their choices.

"Alright, who's the greatest threats in the other team? We should take them out first so we can get a head start." Abby suggested.

"However, we do not know who they are." Jeanette said. "Caleb does not count because he used a contraption to take me out."

"Isn't Eliza an asset?" Nymeria wondered aloud.

"Please, she was an easy kill." Keith said cockily.

"What about that police officer?" Beatrice suggested. "Aren't those kinds of people skilled?"

"Depends on their rank and training." Quincey answered. "And judging by the badges and medals that girl is wearing, she must be new."

"Then she is out of the picture then." Jeanette said. "What about Kazuo?"

"I accuse him of giving us poisoned berries." Quincey immediately said.

"Wait, that was his doing?" Keith gasped. "I thought the CIA are sabotaging us."

"What if Kazuo is part of the CIA then?" Nymeria gasped as well.

"We should ban him this instant!" Keith proposed adamantly.

"This is going nowhere." Quincey sighed.

"However, there is merit to banning Kazuo. If he was able to sabotage us by poisoning the berries, then he may prove to be tactically sound." Jeanette said. "And moreover, he caught both me and Daniel by surprise in the paintball challenge."

"Really? Then I guess we have one person to ban." Abby said.

"Now for the other one." Nymeria wondered out loud.

"Should we ban the police officer?" Alysson asked them.

"We do not know her capabilities." Jeanette said. "Perhaps we should not risk it."

"Eliza is really the only one I can think of." Nymeria pointed out to them. "She did show some skill at least. Keith was just better."

"And maybe they might ban Keith this round." Abby assumed.

"It is a possibility." Beatrice agreed.

"So Eliza it is!" Jackie exclaimed with a laugh.

"Fine. But I still think she's weak." Keith rolled his eyes and adjusted his tin foil hat.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Beatrice:** If only I can use my foresight to tell me who the other team will be banning, but the vision is too blurry.

 **Gabriella:** Dodgeball is one of my favorite outdoor activities! Granted, I'm not that good at it, but I can learn as I go right?

 **~End Confessional~**

Meanwhile, the Black Knights were also discussing on who to ban for the round.

"We're banning Keith, no questions asked." Eliza said immediately.

"Whoa there, aren't we going to see what everyone else has to say about that?" Silvia tried to say.

"But he lasted so long in the last challenge! What more proof do you need?" Eliza said, exasperated.

"She has a point..." Gabriel agreed. "Keith and Jeanette stood out last challenge...We shouldn't ignore them."

"I don't know about you guys, but Jeanette doesn't seem she can make this challenge work in her favor." Kazuo interrupted.

"What do you mean?" Winona asked.

"She used her umbrella to block the paintballs." Kazuo said. "But can she do the same now? It's a different challenge."

"You're right." Eliza nodded.

"I hope you don't try to ban one of our own." Jamie narrowed her eyes at Kazuo.

"No self destruction here." Kazuo raised his hands defensively and grinned.

"Let's get back on topic..." Gabriel told them.

"You people are dumb!" Antoine exclaimed. "Obviously, we should ban that dude who dresses as if it's prom!"

"You mean Quincey?" Winona sighed dreamily. "Isn't he handsome?"

"Are you daft?" Antoine deadpanned.

"He didn't show much last challenge...aside from his aching stomach.." Gabriel remarked. "But it was a close fight...So we should consider it."

"Do we have to?" Winona pouted.

"Well we want to win, so we have to do this." Silvia told the fashionista. "At least you can see him in action in the next rounds." She added.

"Only to see me crush him because I'm superior!" Antoine bragged.

"Hmph. You're too arrogant." Winona frowned at Antoine.

"Anyways, are we good with Keith and Quincey?" Jamie asked the team.

"No objections here." Caitlyn said. "Should we talk about who to ban for the next rounds?"

"I think we should save that for when after we see what they're made of." Eliza said.

"This should be interesting." Kazuo grinned.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Kazuo:** Very interesting indeed. *he chuckles*

 **Antoine:** *he smirks* This team will soon find out how I'm the greatest! Even though I suck at dodgeball, I gotta do this to save face.

 **~End Confessional~**

"Valnoir! We're ready!" They heard Jackie say from the other team.

"Us too!" Silvia exclaimed and stepped forward.

"I see. Let's hear the bans then." Valnoir smirked.

"We ban Kazuo and Eliza." Jeanette told the host.

"Got it." Valnoir nodded.

"How about you guys?" Blaineley turned to the other team.

"We choose Keith and Quincey to be banned." Caitlyn said.

"Great." Valnoir chuckled. "You all heard that, so get to planning who will be the first five to play."

The Black Knights huddled up again.

"Alright, so who wants to go in?" Silvia asked.

"Me!" Jamie immediately raised her hand.

"Me of course." Antoine snorted. "You all need me more than ever."

"Sure we do." Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Just in case, I'm going in."

"Grr, I don't need you." Antoine huffed.

"Caleb? Do you want to go?" Silvia asked him, who was sitting on the bleachers while tinkering with a few metal parts.

"No." Caleb said simply.

"But you're a part of this team too." Winona said as she went over to him. "Tell you what, if you play this round, we won't bother you for the next rounds." She placed a hand on his shoulder. Caleb stopped and looked up at her.

"Fine." He grunted and stood up to join them.

"Can I take the last spot?" Silvia asked her team.

"Sure. Go break a leg." Kazuo said with a smile. They all looked at him weirdly. "What? It's an idiom."

"Did you really mean it like that?" Eliza raised her eyebrow with a smirk.

"Actually I did." Kazuo pointed out. "But hey, whatever floats your boat." He winked.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Eliza:** Kazuo is funny, so I guess I'll keep him around for much longer. He might even be a good ally if only I can convince him to think straight and the way I want it.

 **Silvia:** I'm not much for outdoor games, and dodgeball is no different. I just took the initiative because it sets a good impression on the team. I know what to Noah in season one, and I'm not gonna make that mistake. I may not like it, but I gotta do it.

 **~End Confessional~**

Over at the White Stallions' side, they also discussed who they will send in first.

"I got a good arm." Jackie exclaimed. "Pick me!"

"Don't." Alysson objected with crossed arms. "He's just going to yell at us again."

"Only if you don't behave." Jackie waggled his finger in a jokingly fashion.

"Enough. I will allow Jackie to be in the first round." Jeanette sighed.

"I wanna have a go!" Nymeria cheered.

"Same here." Gabriella chimed in as well. "Leave it to me. I love these kinds of games."

"Then you both may play." Jeanette said with a nod. "Anyone else?"

"Well why not? I should give it a try too." Abby said with a shrug. "I'm usually in charge of making sure my soccer team's goalkeeper is in top shape, so I think I know how to catch a ball."

"Cool! We basically have infinite lives now." Nymeria grinned.

"One last." Quincey told them.

"I wish they didn't ban me." Keith sighed. "If you need me, I'll be outside hunting for government spies." He started towards the exit.

"Don't you want to watch?" Beatrice asked him.

"Nope. Now leave me alone." Keith said sternly before walking faster and eventually leaving.

"Whatever. He's banned anyway." Gabriella remarked.

"Beatrice? Don't you want to try?" Jackie asked her.

"I think I'll sit this one out." Beatrice answered.

"I will sit out as well. I need to know how the enemy moves and the strategies they have prepared." Jeanette stated. She then glanced at Alysson. "That leaves you."

"Really?" Alysson sighed. "Alright alright. I'll play with some balls." He winked. Most of the girls facepalmed at that remark except for Nymeria who was trying to psyche herself up for the challenge.

"Valnoir! We're ready!" Nymeria exclaimed.

"So are we." They heard Caitlyn say from the other side.

"That's great." Blaineley rolled her eyes. "Can we get started now?"

"Right. Campers, take your positions!" Valnoir ordered.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Keith:** Those guys will be fine without me. I need to uncover more dangerous secrets the government holds and destroy it!

 **Abby:** One time I played as backup goalkeeper during practice because our original one couldn't make it. At the very least I block two out of five of Arnold's shots. I think that's an achievement for me.

 **~End Confessional~**

Nymeria, Gabriella, Jackie, Abby, and Alysson took their place on the White Stallions' side of the field while Jamie, Antoine, Caitlyn, Caleb, and Silvia took the other side for the Black Knights.

"Ready?" Valnoir asked them. They all nodded. "Then start!"

Nymeria, Jamie, Antoine, and Gabriella all dived for a ball. Nymeria was the fastest, able to snatch one up and throw it at Antoine who was just about to grab a ball. He got hit square in the forehead and was knocked back.

"Ow! Damn you!" Antoine cursed.

"Out of the field, Antoine." Blaineley said. "You're blocking all the action." At that, Antoine glared at her but left the field.

Gabriella got her ball next and threw it at Jamie, who deflected it with her ball and threw hers at the other girl, solidly hitting her shoulder.

"Aw." Gabriella frowned. She left the court as well.

"Here I go!" Abby said as she got a fallen ball and hurled it at Silvia, who tried to dodge but the armor slowed her down a bit and she got hit in the leg.

"Not so fast." Caitlyn got the ball Silvia dropped and hurled it at Abby, who caught it with ease.

"Nice try." Abby smirked. She pointed at Beatrice and the other girl hesitantly entered the field.

"Take that." Caleb said in a bored tone as he threw the ball at Alysson. He tried to catch it as well but failed and was hit in the wrists.

"Aw, it's harder than it looks." Alysson pouted.

"Alysson is out." Valnoir declared. "This is starting to get good."

Both Jackie and Abby threw a ball at Jamie, who dodged one and caught the other. The police officer then threw it at Jackie and hit him square in the chest.

"Damn it. Too slow." Jackie cursed to himself and angrily left the court.

Beatrice picked up a dodgeball and was looking around to see if she can hit someone. She saw Nymeria dodge a ball thrown by Caitlyn and Caleb looking ready to catch the ball Abby is about to throw. She decided to help out Abby and threw her ball at Caleb. The tinkerer didn't see it coming as he was too focused on Abby and therefore got hit in the shoulder.

"I did it." Beatrice smiled.

"Good job, Beatri- oof!" Abby turned to her with a grin and didn't realize Jamie threw a ball that connected with her gut and knocked her back.

"Oh no. I'm sorry." Beatrice frowned. "I didn't see it coming." She turned towards Jamie and widened her eyes before crouching just in time to see a ball whiz past her overhead.

"Good dodge." Jamie complimented.

"Got you!" Caitlyn cheered as she managed to get Nymeria out.

"Nooooo!" Nymeria wailed dramatically.

"Just get out already." Blaineley sighed in annoyance.

"Killjoy." Nymeria muttered.

Only Beatrice was left on one side while Jamie and Caitlyn were on the other.

"I can do this. I can do this." Beatrice repeatedly said this to herself.

"Sorry, it's just a challenge." Jamie apologized and both of them threw a ball at her. Beatrice yelped a bit and got distracted, making the two balls connect against her.

"The Black Knights win this round!" Valnoir announced. Some of the members of the said team cheered a bit.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Beatrice:** Even I couldn't foresee all that. You have to understand that my ability has its limits for now. *she sighs*

 **Jamie:** I honestly didn't know what I was doing. I have never played dodgeball before as a kid, just observed others while in the background. Maybe it just rubbed off on me, I don't know.

 **~End Confessional~**

The White Stallions began discussing who to send in for the second round, and who to ban as well.

"I say we ban Jamie." Gabriella suggested. "She was so solid during the match!"

"I completely agree." Jeanette nodded. "And by the way, I will participate in the next round if you all do not mind."

"And now that I'm not banned, I'll be playing as well." Quincey declared.

"Yes, now all we need is Keith!" Nymeria exclaimed.

"Um, where is he?" Beatrice asked as she looked around.

"He's probably still outside." Alysson sighed.

"I would have someone look for him, but we need people here just in case we managed to catch a ball." Jeanette said. "He will simply have to return on his own."

"Let's just see who the other team bans, and whoever does should be the one to find Keith." Abby suggested.

"Then let's talk about the last ban then." Jackie urged.

"Maybe we should ban Caitlyn." Beatrice said.

"She did last long." Abby said. "It might just work."

 **~Confessional~**

 **Abby:** This first round went horribly for me. I hope I can do better this time.

 **Jeanette:** Keith had better come back this instant. The other team do have some strong contenders after all, and that, for me, makes it more interesting.

 **~End Confessional~**

The Black Knights were also discussing who to ban.

"We can ban Abby." Caitlyn suggested. "Her catching skill may become troublesome."

"Yes and if we don't ban her, she might be able to call in the other strong members." Eliza agreed.

"Who else is strong from their team?" Winona asked.

"None of them in particular stood out." Kazuo remarked.

"Hey there's Nymeria's speed." Jamie pointed out. "And acrobatic skill."

"Good point." Caitlyn nodded. "Do we ban her?"

"Yes, ban her before she completely becomes smart! Keep her dumb!" Antoine urged.

"Will you...shut up?" Gabriel grumbled.

"You shut up!" Antoine retorted.

"Break it up, you two." Silvia glanced at both of them.

"Can I sit this one out?" Caleb raised his hand.

"Go ahead. I'll play in your stead." Kazuo grinned.

"Cool. Thanks." Caleb said as he sat back down and began tinkering with some parts.

"Do you know how to play dodgeball well?" Eliza asked him.

"I know how to dodge my mistakes. Does that count?" Kazuo grinned innocently.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Antoine:** They didn't want me in the next round! These dumb people are lost without me and they know that! What, do they wanna lose the challenge that badly?

 **Kazuo:** Can't wait to play. I wonder what the butterfly effect has in store this time. *he chuckles*

 **~End Confessional~**

"So who's it gonna be?" Valnoir called out to the two teams.

"We're going to ban Jamie and Caitlyn!" Gabriella announced.

"And we bench Abby and Nymeria." Silvia announced as well.

"Done. Now, get to your positions." Blaineley said. "We don't have all day."

"Alysson, go find Keith and hurry." Jeanette ordered.

"What? Why me?" Alysson pouted. "He won't listen to me anyway."

"Then tell him that his team wants him back or he will face elimination if we lose." Jeanette said quickly. "Now hurry, the match is about to start."

"Fine." Alysson conceded and went off.

Kazuo, Eliza, Silvia, Gabriel, and Winona went to their team's side of the court while Jeanette, Quincey, Jackie, Gabriella, and Beatrice went to the other side.

"Ready?" Valnoir glanced at all of them. Each of them prepared to get a ball or catch one. "Then begin!"

Eliza rolled forward and snagged a ball in her arms before throwing it in front of her. It was Beatrice who got caught in the hit almost instantly.

"That was fast." Silvia remarked.

"Don't lose focus now." Kazuo reminded her as he smiled and got a ball of his own. He saw Jackie throw a ball his way aiming for his head but he sidestepped and threw the ball at the jester in retaliation, hitting him in the head.

"OW!" Jackei exclaimed and looked on angrily before grumbling and leaving the court along with Beatrice.

"Not bad...not bad at all..." Gabriel remarked as he saw the game unfold in their favor once again.

"Look out!" He heard Silvia call out to him but it was too late as a ball hit him in the chest.

"Someone isn't paying attention." Quincey mused as he held up another ball. He glanced at Winona who saw him and held out her hands.

"Please don't throw so hard." Winona pleaded.

"Sorry, m'lady. It's nothing personal." Quincey said and aimed. He threw the ball but it got deflected but Kazuo's own throw with his ball.

"And that's what I call a cockb-" He was interrupted by a ball hitting his shoulder thrown by Jeanette.

"Time for you to leave, boy." Jeanette said coolly.

"Aw, fine." Kazuo frowned and left the field.

"See if you can dodge this." Eliza smirked and threw a ball at Gabriella. The other girl looked panicked for a second and held out both her arms then miraculously caught the ball. "What!?" Eliza's mouth went agape.

"Oh hey, caught one." Gabriella giggled and called in Jackie.

"Good. Now we can win!" Jackie exclaimed as he skipped back and picked up a ball in the process.

"Grrr! Don't get too cocky." Eliza snarled and went to pick up another ball.

"I'll help!" Winona said and daintily picked up a ball from the ground and threw it at Jeanette, only to have it land inches away from the target. "Oops."

"Nice try, darling." Jeanette smiled and picked up the ball Winona had thrown and threw it back at her, hitting her legs.

"And just like that, the Black Knights are down to two members left." Valnoir announced. He then saw Silvia try to dodge Quincey throw but it wasn't enough and she got hit on the side of her head and fell to the ground. "One. They are down to one member." He corrected himself.

"Now Eliza is facing four members of the opposite team. Can she turn the tides?" Blaineley asked the camera.

"I can do this. I won't go down that easily." Eliza smirked as she readied herself to dodge while holding a ball in her hands.

"Empty words coming from you." Jeanette countered.

"Let's do this!" Gabriella exclaimed and threw her ball at Eliza, who nimbly dodged and immediately threw her own ball while picking up another one, eliminating Gabriella in the process.

"Not yet!" Jackie said and threw his ball in a low throw, but Eliza jumped over it and threw her ball down hard at him, catching him in the shoulder and knocking him down.

"Only two left." Eliza panted.

"Quincey, let us throw at the same time." Jeanette told him.

"Got it." Quincey nodded and aimed to throw at Eliza.

"See? I can beat you." Eliza smirked as she picked up another ball.

"Now!" Jeanette exclaimed and they both threw their balls at Eliza while she was still bent down to pick up a ball. Eliza saw this coming though and rolled to the side then threw a ball at Jeanette, hitting her arm. "That cannot be."

"And now for- Ow!" Eliza was cute short when a ball hit her directly in the forehead. Quincey had managed to quickly pick up another ball and followed up his attack, thus eliminating Eliza.

"I'm gonna have to stop you right there." Quincey said with a small grin.

"Why you..." Eliza said and was about to charge at him but Silvia and Kazuo held her back.

"Cool it, Eliza." Silvia said.

"We still have another round." Kazuo added with a grin. "I wonder how I can play that out."

 **~Confessional~**

 **Eliza:** Just you wait, I'll definitely take home the win in this final round! But so far they haven't sent in Keith. What, does he think he's too good for us? *she rolls her eyes*

 **Quincey:** What a pleasant round for us. I shall continue to play in the next game in order to ensure our victory as well. Although, that Eliza may be their most skilled player alongside Jamie. I should be cautious around them.

 **Jeanette:** That round looked dangerous and this new information about Eliza may hold the key in our victory. All we need now is Keith. Where is that boy anyway?

 **~End Confessional~**

Meanwhile, Alysson was walking around near an unexplored part of the woods when he suddenly saw a path that looks a bit suspicious.

"I wonder what's back here." Alysson wondered to himself and was about to enter when someone suddenly pulled him aside to hide in some bushes.

"What are you doing?" Keith asked in an angry whisper. "You'll catch the government's attention."

"What are you doing, sitting around here for?" Alysson whispered back. "The team needs you!"

"They're doing fine." Keith retorted.

"Oh yeah? How do you know?" Alysson challenged.

"Because the government hasn't gotten to them yet." Keith argued.

"Wow, that's amazing." Alysson said in a sweet tone but with a roll of his eyes. "And if we lose, Jeanette said we're voting you off unanimously."

"They can't do that." Keith protested. "I was just about ready to uncover a big government secret!"

"Then focus on helping out in the challenge first so you can do whatever this is in your free time." Alysson poked his forehead, which made him swat his hand away in annoyance.

"Fine fine fine!" Keith stood up and muttered to himself while going back to the challenge area with him.

After a few minutes, they headed inside and already saw their team planning for the next round.

"There you guys are." Abby said as she saw them join in.

"Sorry we're late." Alysson apologized. "Someone here was being difficult." He glared at Keith.

"Look let's just get this over with, alright?" Keith said exasperatedly. "The government might catch on to me." He looked around with slight paranoia.

"Yes we did plan for you to play from the start." Jeanette said.

"I wanna join in too!" Nymeria raised her hand excitedly.

"Yeah that's great and all but who are we banning?" Jackie asked them.

"I do not see the need anymore." Beatrice admitted softly.

"You're right, Beatrice." Jeanette agreed. "We have taken turns banning who we believe are their strongest members. And as Valnoir stated, we cannot ban these people again."

"Then we just have to say random names." Gabriella shrugged.

"Yeah, we don't wanna sound too cocky." Abby agreed. "Who should we ban?"

"I say we ban that Winona girl." Quincey suggested. "She didn't seem like she wanted to play."

"But isn't that a good thing for us?" Gabriella countered.

"I agree with Quincey." Jeanette said. "Let's ban Winona."

"Look it doesn't matter anyway so let's keep the ball rolling." Jackie interjected.

"Then in that case, we should ban Antoine too." Alysson suggested. "He's loud and annoying."

"I'm down for that." Nymeria nodded. "He doesn't have good sportsmanship." She pouted.

"And he says degrading things." Abby sighed.

"So it's settled then?" Beatrice asked the team. They all nodded. "I'll go tell Valnoir and Blaineley."

 **~Confessional~**

 **Gabriella:** Look I get that Winona over there wants to win it all, but she can't do that if she can't even do one simply physical challenge. Plus she looks rich already so why bother? Experience, maybe?

 **Beatrice:** I may not be able to predict the outcome, but I can tell our team will do well in this game. Of that I am sure of.

 **Nymeria:** This should be fun! The final round! Ooooh, I'm getting goosebumps already. I should get hyped up for this.

 **Keith:** This had better be worth it. I still gotta check where that path leads and what secrets I can uncover. But what if the government knows and attached a TNT on my bed? *shakes a bit in paranoia*

 **~End Confessional~**

The Black Knights gathered around to plan their line up and who to ban from the other team.

"Do we seriously need to ban any more?" Antoine asked exasperatedly. "They're all dumb!"

"Says you." Winona muttered.

"What was that!?" Antoine snapped as he glared at her.

"Hey back off. You have no right to talk to a lady that way." Jamie scolded.

"Oh yeah?" Antoine challenge.

"Yeah." Jamie glared at him, which made Antoine gulp for a bit.

"He faltered..." Gabriel snickered.

"S-Shut up dumbass!" Antoine retorted.

"Can we just focus on this please?" Silvia sighed.

"As much as I hate to say it, but Antoine is right." Eliza pointed out. "Who else should be banned?"

"Why not Jackie?" Kazuo said. "He didn't prove to be good at the game, but I kinda noticed he was pretty competitive."

"Yeah I noticed it too." Winona affirmed. "It's a different kind of competitiveness."

"Then we ban him...done.." Gabriel said. "Who's the next person?..."

"Got any input, Caleb?" Caitlyn asked the tinkerer.

"Hmm? Nothing." Caleb looked up at them for a bit before resuming his work.

"By the way, you're playing." Kazuo called out.

"Why him?" Caitlyn asked.

"I just feel like he has some hidden potential within him." Kazuo said with a grin. "I trust him."

"Wait, what?" Caleb looked up again and blinked.

"Anyways, let's go back on topic." Silvia said to the team.

"Let's ban Gabriella..." Gabriel said.

"Why her?" Winona asked.

"She's played in two rounds now...If she gets used to the challenge...she might help make the comeback they need..." Gabriel reasoned.

"Good point." Eliza nodded.

"Then we're all set?" Jamie asked them.

"Pretty much." Kazuo chuckled. "Let's go see the consequences of our bans."

"Um, okay?" Jamie tilted her head in confusion.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Jamie:** Kazuo is a bit weird, and his motives are pretty unusual too. But as long as he keeps on the right track for now, we won't have any problems.

 **Caleb:** Hey wait a minute, why am I playing again?

 **Eliza:** I saw Keith from the other team. Does this mean he will join in this round? Because he better be! I'll get my revenge!

 **~End Confessional~**

Blaineley cleared her throat. "That's enough planning. So state your bans!"

"We ban Antoine and Winona!" Nymeria exclaimed.

"And we will ban Jackie and Gabriella." Kazuo said.

"Good choice." Valnoir smirked. "Well except for the people the White Stallions banned."

"We didn't have a choice okay?" Alysson pouted.

"We all have choices. You just wasted yours." Valnoir cackled. "No matter. Get to your positions!" He ordered.

Kieth, Nymeria, Quincey, Abby, and Alysson stood on the White Stallions' side of the court while Eliza, Jamie, Kazuo, Caitlyn, and Caleb stood on the Black Knights' side.

"So you finally decided to show up." Eliza snarled at Keith. "You got some nerve not playing in the last round."

"The government has plans to terrorize and enslave the rest of humanity, and I have to deal with the pride of this criminal wannabe?" Keith sighed and shook his head.

"What did you say!?" Eliza snapped.

"Ah, if only Antoine was playing." Kazuo mused. "This drama would be so much better."

"That's why he isn't." Nymeria pouted. "He's not a good team player. He should be voted out!"

"That's a good idea." Kazuo nodded. "Hey guys, on the off chance we lose, let's vote out Antoine." He laughed.

"That's great and all, but only one problem with it. We aren't gonna lose." Caitlyn said with conviction.

"We aren't going to roll over you know. We're gonna win this." Abby said with determination in her voice.

"Our strategy will thwart yours." Quincey said evenly as he readied himself to get a ball.

"Then clearly you haven't been paying attention to how I play." Jamie smirked as she readied herself as well.

"Oh, but I think I've done my research." Quincey countered with a small smile.

"So, um, hi there." Alysson tried to flirt with Caleb despite the tensions being high around them.

"Can we start now?" Caleb sighed. "I wanna get back to the thing I was doing."

"And what might that be?" Alysson said in a friendly tone.

"That's a secret. The other team has no right to know about it." Caleb said strictly.

"Everyone ready?" Blaineley asked.

"Are you blind? Can't you see they're raring to go?" Valnoir cackled. The co-host just glared at him. "Begin!"

Everyone went diving for a dodgeball. Eliza and Nymeria got theirs first and threw it at each other, with Eliza sidestepping in the nick of time to dodge Nymeria's throw. Nymeria, however, was able to bend back to make Eliza's throw just whizz past her overhead.

"Not bad." Eliza smirked.

"You too." Nymeria smirked back and prepared herself again.

By this point, Quincey, Keith, Jamie, and Kazuo have each gotten their own ball and were about to throw it at each other.

"I wonder if these balls are drones by the government?" Keith said in a paranoid voice as his hands were shaking while clutching the ball.

"Not now, boy." Quincey interrupted as he threw a ball at Jamie with precise accuracy, hitting her in the chest before she could react by throwing hers.

"Ow!" Jamie pouted. "Right in the heart too. That's a good shot."

"Thank you, milady." Quincey bowed to dodge Kazuo's overhead throw.

"Hey that's a pretty cool transition." Kazuo complimented.

"Don't forget about me!" Alysson exclaimed as he threw a ball at Kazuo, who caught it easily and threw it back at him, taking him out. "What?" He blinked.

"Don't announce yourself like that!" Keith scolded. He suddenly threw his ball at an unsuspecting Caleb, who was just about to throw his ball to Abby.

"Hey!" Caleb frowned. "Fine, it's whatever." He and Alysson left the court.

Caitlyn proceeded to pick up Caleb's fallen ball and throw it at Abby, who caught it while moving back.

"Hah!" Abby cheered and pointed at Jeanette. The other girl smiled politely and joined her team on the field.

"Very well done, Abby." Jeanette complimented and picked up a ball.

"This is bad." Caitlyn muttered.

"Not yet!" Eliza exclaimed and picked up a ball then threw it at Keith. The other boy already had another ball in his hand and threw it at her as well. Both balls collided and bounced back at their respective throwers, knocking them both back hard.

"Gahh!" Keith said in pain as he got up.

"Does that count?" Nymeria tilted her head.

"Nope." Valnoir shook his head. "They're both still in this."

"But they got hit." Caitlyn said.

"By their own balls." Valnoir said. "That doesn't count."

"Ugh...I can still win this." Eliza said as she got up and picked up another ball.

"Good because we only have three members left." Kazuo reminded her. Just then, a ball hit him in the face thrown by Nymeria.

"Got you!" Nymeria giggled.

"Aw, but I wasn't done experimenting." Kazuo frowned and left the court.

"Only two of you left." Keith remarked as he picked up another ball and aimed to throw.

"Don't act so snide." Eliza scoffed. She picked up a ball and prepared herself as well.

"Heads up!" Nymeria exclaimed and threw the ball at Caitlyn.

"I got it!" Caitlyn held out her hands and caught the ball safely. She then had to duck as Quincey threw a ball at her. Retaliating, she threw the ball she caught and hit Quincey where the sun doesn't shine.

"Eep..." Quincey said meekly and softly.

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt." Blaineley remarked.

"Well it seems to work because Quincey is out and the Black Knights can send someone in again." Valnoir announced.

Gabriel entered the field and sighed to himself before picking up a ball.

"I really have no love for this game..." Gabriel shook his head.

"Let's see if your arrogance can save you." Eliza said as she threw the ball at Keith's chest. The boy managed to side step and throw his own ball at her, but she caught it in midair. "Got you." She smirked.

"Damn it was a bait." Keith cursed to himself.

Silvia grinned as she wore her helmet and joined the fray on the Black Knights' side.

"Be careful." Jeanette told her team. "And throw decisively. They will keep bringing up people at this-" She got interrupted when Gabriel threw a ball at her shoulder. "Excuse me!?" She demanded.

"Keep talking and you lose..." Gabriel said simply. "Now get out..."

"This is getting bad." Abby frowned.

"Just focusing on catching the balls." Jeanette called out from the sidelines.

"Got it." The soccer team manager said and psyched herself up.

"And I'll take them out one by one." Keith said.

"Bold words..." Silvia remarked. She immediately threw her ball at Keith, who dodged it with ease. He then gasped a bit and tripped over himself while trying to dodge Caitlyn's throw.

"Almost had him." Caitlyn grunted. She suddenly got hit in the hip by a ball thrown by Abby.

"Well I got you." Abby smirked. Caitlyn frowned and joined the rest of her team in the bleachers.

"This is getting intense now." Nymeria exclaimed as she hopped up and down excitedly.

"Focus, Nymeria. We've almost won." Abby told her.

"No, we've almost won." Eliza countered as she picked up another ball. She threw it at Keith again but this time Nymeria caught it.

"I got it!" She exclaimed. "Ow!" She got hit in the side by Gabriel's ball.

"And you're out..." Gabriel grinned a bit.

The White Stallions called in Beatrice to the court and she obliged.

"Three members for each team." Valnoir announced.

"It's a tight match." Blaineley remarked.

"But one mistake can make or break the match." Valnoir cackled.

"Hah!" Abby threw a ball at Silvia, but the other girl managed to narrowly avoid it.

"Whoa." The stormtrooper gasped as she fell down.

"And done." Beatrice said softly as she threw down her ball and hit the defenseless Silvia.

"How useless..." Gabriel rolled his eyes and threw his ball at Beatrice, hitting her forehead and knocking her back.

"Ow..." Beatrice moaned in pain.

"Hey you didn't have to throw it so hard." Abby glared at him.

"If I didn't...then it would be a slow ball..." Gabriel argued back.

"And we don't do slow balls!" Eliza exclaimed and threw her ball at Abby. Keith moved to catch it but it was too fast and the soccer manager was eliminated.

"Damn it." Keith cursed as Abby left the court.

"Guess it's only you left..." Gabriel sighed. "You really seem to be the team's strongest player..."

"Hey you lasted long in the last challenge too." Keith countered.

"Yes but I know my limits..." Gabriel said and picked up a ball.

"Enough talk. Let's end this." Eliza said as she picked up a ball.

"Hmph, the sooner I'm done with you the sooner I can get back to more important matters." Keith threw his ball at Eliza and rolled to the side to avoid Gabriel's sudden throw at him.

"Missed!" Eliza sidestepped and threw her ball downwards at his legs. Keith recovered and grabbed a ball in time, using it to deflect Eliza's throw. He then used the same ball to throw it at her, catching her in the chin. "Gah!"

"One last." Keith said to himself and picked up another ball. Gabriel moved back a bit before picking up a ball of his own.

"Don't think it'll be like last time..." Gabriel narrowed his eyes at him.

"You can do it, Keith!" Nymeria cheered from the sidelines.

"Knock him out!" Abby added.

"What, aren't your government superiors gonna cheer for you?" Keith smirked.

"Seriously?..." Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

"Hurry up and win so I can take a good picture of our second victory." Caitlyn urged as she got her camera ready.

"Hurry up and lose so we can eliminate someone!" Kazuo exclaimed. His team looked at him weirdly. "What?"

Gabriel readied to throw and so did Keith. Both boys threw their balls at the same time then made an effort to avoid the opposition's throw.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

...It was Gabriel who got hit in the arm while Keith managed to narrowly avoid the ball.

"It seems we won." Beatrice gave a smile.

"Hell yeah!" Jackie exclaimed. "In your face, losers!" He laughed at the other team.

"Sheesh, too competitive." Jamie shook her head as Gabriel joined the team again.

"Those bragging rights mean nothing!" Antoine retorted to the other team.

"Silence!" Valnoir said as the two hosts approached them. "The White Stallions have won today's challenge."

"That means the Black Knights will face elimination tonight." Blaineley smirked. "Have fun deciding who to vote out."

"We will." Kazuo grinned with a wave as the hosts walked away.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Gabriel:** The time has come for us to vote again...I wonder...

 **Jeanette:** We won this challenge, which will give me more time to analyze and understand the people around me. As for the other team, I have a fairly good guess who they'll be taking out.

 **Keith:** Good we won, can I go now?

 **Eliza:** *she banged her fist on the side of the confessional booth* Dammit! Again! I swear, next challenge will be different!

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Black Knights)**

The team gathered outside of the challenge area to discuss about the votes before the ceremony.

"So it's time to vote huh." Silvia started.

"It's sad that it has to be this way." Winona frowned.

"But it is so get over it." Antoine rolled his eyes.

"You know, your attitude is really giving me a headache." Caitlyn pointed out.

"Agreed..." Gabriel glared at him. "It's hard to think with you around..."

"Shut up! You don't have to think because you're dumb." Antoine retorted.

"I for one think that Gabriel is way smarter than that guy." Caleb raised his hand.

"I have a name you know." Antoine scoffed.

"Which is not worth mentioning." Kazuo laughed.

"Oooh. Burn!" Eliza laughed as well. They both high-fived.

"I think we really should eliminate Antoine." Jamie agreed with the rest.

"You too? I thought you were a tad bit smarter." Antoine exclaimed.

"Look you're just so annoying!" Silvia snapped. "You never work together with the team or follow orders."

"Not to mention you're pretty much useless." Caitlyn added with a snicker.

"Screw you all." Antoine glared and walked away. "You'll see that you need me someday!"

The team began to disperse and socialize after that, as there are a few minutes before the ceremony starts. Eliza approached Kazuo who seemed to be observing a couple of leaves fall down from a tree.

"Hey." Eliza greeted. "Got something on your mind?"

"I do." Kazuo affirmed. "What's your cup size?"

"D cup. Why?" Eliza said nonchalantly.

"No particular reason. Just wanted to see your reaction." Kazuo chuckled. "Most girls would freak out, cover their chest, and leave."

"Well I'm not like most girls." Eliza smirked proudly. "I'm not ashamed of my body either."

"That's nice." Kazuo grinned. "I now know these things because I asked you that question. That's the butterfly effect in, well, effect."

"So you get info by just being random at it?" Eliza said in am amused tone.

"Not just info. Consequences." Kazuo clarified. He caught a falling leaf in his hand and observed it. "Take this leaf for example. I wonder what would happen if I crushed it into tiny pieces." He proceeded to do just that and the remains of it were still in his hand.

"Hmm?" Eliza tilted her head curiously.

"Maybe the intern in charge of cleaning this up would have a slightly harder time making it spotless." Kazuo scattered the pieces and it got carried away by the wind. "All because tiny pieces ruin the aesthetics."

"So you're saying that these consequences can affect a person's life in a minor way?" Eliza asked.

"Not just minor. Could be major too." Kazuo explained. "I wouldn't know. And that's the beauty of the butterfly effect."

"Mind if I join in on this too?" Eliza smirked.

"Sure thing, if you can keep up." Kazuo chuckled.

Meanwhile, Silvia caught up to Jamie as the police officer was already heading to the elimination site.

"Wait up, Jamie." Silvia called out. "I just wanna ask you something."

"Yeah?" Jamie stopped and turned to face the cosplayer.

"I just wanna talk about any upcoming eliminations we may have." Silvia said.

"Really? Isn't talking about tonight's vote enough?" Jamie frowned.

"Well we aren't always going to win." Silvia pointed out. "Might as well be prepared."

"That's true." Jamie conceded. "So who did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking Winona." Silvia said.

"Why her? She didn't do anything." Jamie said.

"And that's the point. She barely does anything in challenges. Always worried about her clothes." Silvia explained. "At least try to think about it."

"Well you do have a point in that, but I'm not so sure." Jamie said. "Why not vote off people like Kazuo? He's been pretty random at most times. It's dangerous for our team."

"Yeah but he performs well in challenges." Silvia pointed out.

"When you put it that way..." Jamie considered it.

"Just about it for now. Of course we're voting for Antoine tonight." Silvia said as she went ahead of the other girl.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Jamie:** I guess when I think about it more, Winona does seem useless in challenges. But she looks so nice, I can't bring myself to vote her out. I wish my brother was here, he's more logical and would do it in a heartbeat. *she sighs*

 **Silvia:** I'm just telling everyone how it is to prevent confusion as the game goes on. Tom going home first was a shock for me, and even more shocking was that the votes were split. I wanna make sure that doesn't happen again.

 **~End Confessional~**

Caleb arrived at the elimination site while tinkerer with some parts then saw Gabriel already seated. The other boy was holding his golden bracelet on his arm and stroking it absent-mindedly.

"Don't mind me." Caleb said as he sat down beside him.

"Mmmm..." Was all Gabriel said as he stared blankly at the campfire in front of there. The two boys waited in silence until they heard Winona arrive.

"Oh my, those brambles nearly caught the hem of my dress." She remarked as she sat down beside Gabriel. "Oh hello boys. Wanna chat for a bit?"

"Nope." Caleb said without looking at her.

"Talk?...Talk about what?.." Gabriel asked without taking his eyes off the campfire.

"About anything except the votes tonight." Winona giggled. "I wanna get to know you guys. We are in a team after all."

"Well I like tinkering with stuff." Caleb said as he still kept on working.

"I can see that." Winona remarked as she saw what he was doing. "I can tell you're really focused when it comes to it."

"This is my hobby, so it's only natural." Caleb shrugged.

"And what about you, Gabriel?" Winona turned to the other boy.

"I just like being an introvert..." Gabriel said softly. "That's why I wish it was over already...so we can get back to the cabin..."

"Oh, is that so?" Winona thought for a bit. "Well for me I think it's pretty obvious that I love fashion. I love shopping and designer clothes. Oh and I also like to help people out whenever they got social problems."

"Well we don't have social problems, so why talk to us?" Caleb asked.

"Actually...I can see why..." Gabriel turned to face Winona. "We don't talk with the others much...so you think there's a problem with our social skill..."

"I wouldn't put it that bluntly." Winona pouted. "I just wanna help out and see if everything is alright with you guys."

"It is..." Gabriel said. "For now..."

"For now?" Winona repeated.

"This team isn't at its...best potential yet..." Gabriel explained. "And even if-"

"Oh wait wait wait, pose right there Winona!" Caitlyn exclaimed as she came into view while holding her camera. "The campfire is a great background for this shot." She said before taking pictures of Winona as the other girl posed a bit.

"And this is what I mean..." Gabriel sighed to himself.

 **~Confessional~**

 **Gabriel:** This team is distracted...that's one thing I'm sure of. And there are those whose priorities aren't...even straight. Unless we deal with that...then our chances of winning challenges will always be slim..

 **Caleb:** Those girls are getting noisy. I just want this thing to be done before the next challenge starts so I'll be better prepared.

 **Winona:** Gabriel and Caleb may not be too social, but I don't think they're bad people. Antoine just has a nasty attitude and I would help him but he's pushing people away.

 **Caitlyn:** I actually listened in on what they were talking about. So Winona is that kind of person, huh?

 **~End Confessional~**

* * *

 **(Elimination Ceremony)**

Valnoir and Blaineley stood in front of the gathered Black Knights, who sit in the stumps serving as their chairs.

"Welcome once again, Black Knights, to your elimination ceremony." Valnoir smirked. "Guess that one win couldn't carry your momentum."

"These people are just dumb." Antoine scoffed.

"You did nothing out there." Eliza rolled her eyes.

"I played!" Antoine exclaimed exasperatedly.

"And you were horrible...period.." Gabriel glared at him. "Can we just get this over with?..."

"Sure thing, Gabriel. I want my beauty sleep." Blaineley yawned. "So we all know how this goes. I call your name, it means you get a vote. Most votes mean you're out."

"This should be an easy night." Kazuo grinned as he relaxed a bit.

"First vote goes to everybody dumber than Antoine." Blaineley read aloud with a raised eyebrow.

"Wow, such desperate attempts." Caitlyn rolled her eyes.

"Screw you." Antoine groaned.

"Next vote goes to Antoine." Blaineley read. "So says the third and fourth vote." She then skimmed through the other votes. "Actually, all these other votes go to Antoine."

"See? Easy night." Kazuo laughed.

"Guess there was no need for drama tonight." Valnoir sighed. "That's what you get for being so boring, Antoine."

"Hey, Caleb is more boring!" Antoine retorted. "Just look at him!" They all looked at Caleb who was minding his own business.

"Don't bring him into this." Winona frowned.

"And you have the right to remain silent." Jamie added in.

"This island has no laws!" Antoine exclaimed.

"It does. Mine." Valnoir stepped up and dragged Antoine along the dock. "And my laws state that whoever gets the most votes should leave the island and never come back." He tossed him in the yacht.

"He's pretty strong." Eliza remarked.

"Maybe they decided to get a strong host so Chef wouldn't be needed." Silvia giggled.

"I heard that." Valnoir called out. "And you're correct." He cackled a bit.

"And with an unanimous decision, Antoine is out." Blaineley shrugged. "Never liked that guy anyway."

"I'm surprised he wasn't the first boot." Caitlyn remarked.

The team stood up and leave without paying any mind to Antoine's protests as he was sailed away on the yacht. Valnoir rejoined Blaineley on the elimination site to give the conclusion.

"But the bigger picture is if the Black Knights will ever make a comeback from this." Valnoir grinned to the camera.

"Or perhaps the White Stallions will ride this momentum onwards." Blaineley said.

"And as for the campers, are they even bothered that currently only boys are getting eliminated?" Valnoir chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure Alysson is bothered. She doesn't have a bed." Blaineley pointed out.

"Not my problem." Valnoir shrugged then winked at the camera when Blaineley wasn't looking. "What's Eliza's interest in Jamie?"

"What is Keith trying to find out and will he ever succeed?" Blaineley chimed in.

"And will the Black Knights get better now that Antoine has been eliminated?" Valnoir asked. "Well granted, we all know the answer to that but still. Find out next time on Total..."

"Drama..." Blaineley said.

"Forgotten Island!" They finished in unison.

* * *

 **~Votes~**

 **Antoine:** I vote for everyone else! Screw them! They're dumber than me! I can handle this team all by myself.

 **Kazuo:** I'll go with the mainstream and vote for Antoine. But unlike the rest, it's nothing personal. *he chuckles*

 **Eliza:** Antoine needs to go. It's like voting off a pebble, nobody will notice the difference.

 **Winona:** Antoine is a difficult person to approach and hold a conversation with. And for that, I have no choice but to vote for him. I'm sorry.

 **Silvia:** I vote for Antoine. Seriously, he's not even a team player and he sucked at the challenge. Well I did too but at least nobody hates me.

 **Jamie:** My vote goes to Antoine. Why does he have to be such a mean person? It's like he's part of a gang or something.

 **Caleb:** Of course I vote for Antoine. The sooner he leaves, the sooner I can peacefully focus on my work.

 **Gabriel:** I vote...for Antoine. Need I say any more?...

 **Caitlyn:** Antoine is so horrible that any pictures taken with him becomes horrible too. Except for that one time where he had this shocked face, yeah that's still priceless. *she giggles*

 **~Eliminated~**

 **20th place: Tom - The Host's Pet**

 **19th place: Daniel - The Crow Whisperer**

 **18th place: Antoine - The False Brainiac**

* * *

 **Finally, I got rid of Antoine. Well anyways, he was always going to be an early boot. I'm sure some of you can compare him to other annoying cast members in my other story, and I won't blame you for thinking he's gonna get far with that attitude. But here he is in 18th place. He truly was meant to be fodder for the Black Knights, but I felt that he was destined to stay longer than Tom. I hope nobody misses him, because I know I won't. Until next time! XBloodLegendX**


End file.
